Slava Polunin, clown

THE OPEN ROAD

peace, love, happiness & understanding

THE ART OF HAPPINESS

July 22, 2021

This is a TEDx talk by Slava Polunin: 

I was asked one day, “Are you happy?” I needed to think, to sit and reflect, and I figured, actually, I’ve been happy for all my life, without breaks, just happiness from morning till night, all day long, without days off or holidays. Nothing but happiness. Why? How is that possible? How could that happen? I did not do anything for it, I did not want anything for it. Just felt happy, and that was it. So I started analyzing. For so many centuries, mankind, smart people with briefcases and ties, have been thinking, reckoning, telling everybody to go here, go there, this way to happiness, that way to happiness, but they don’t succeed. 

So I figured, the smart have failed. And I thought, we need to establish an alternative, an International Fools Academy. I founded that Academy and appointed myself its irreplaceable president. So, for some 20-30 years I’ve been the President of the World Fools Academy. Our members are the biggest fools, idiots who are somehow always happy. There is just no way to change it; whatever you do, they just remain happy, there’s no way of beating that happiness out of them. Do not think that they are dimwits with no family, no kids, no problems, no tragedies—they have everything like everyone else. But such a person enters a room and everything is lit up with sunlight, they kind of radiate it, making everybody drop whatever they’re doing and rush after happiness, towards happiness. And it’s with those people I now create all kinds of organizations. 

I figured there is only one way: you have to create small, tiny oases. I realized that I won’t change the world anyway, so take just a tiny space, three meters, and in those three meters make sure that everything exists in harmony, in happiness, in joy—that was my dream. So I created first one theater, then a second theater, then a third one. Later some other organizations, all different and very cute. And everywhere I strove to create just one thing—a harmony in a tiny space, and then try to expand that harmony with all my might, to push its walls as far as possible. Sometimes I succeed quite okay, sometimes not so much, but this formula—create harmony around you and then try to expand it as far as you can—it works perfectly. And so, as I am always in the middle, I’m always happy, I’m in harmony, always among my friends, and always full of joy.

So, what are the signs of happiness? I’ll try to sound like a scientist now. (Laughter) We sat and thought for a long time: what are the signs of happiness? How do you recognize it? It turned out to be simple—whistling. As soon as you start whistling, no doubt you’re happy. So, the first sign of happiness is whistling, the second is singing, the third one is bouncing. So, you walk…(Bounces across the stage) (Laughter) (Applause) Those are indisputable signs proven by centuries, decades, by thousands of people and by myself. 

Now, how do you reach that happiness? There are probably as many different kinds of happiness as there are people. There are so many possibilities of happiness, so many varieties. And it is hard to tell them apart: one is vibrant energy, that’s happiness; another just sat down—and he’s zen, happy already. Not everybody needs it all. Some people need some things, so they have different ways to get there. My scheme is very simple: while you create, you are happy. What does “create” mean? It means you’re getting closer to yourself. The act of creating is an ideal ignition key. Just switch on creativity, and you’re already happy. My creativity scheme is simple: if people around me feel joy, if they feel happy, that’s when my happiness begins. So, you start that engine, they get in, you join them, and everything is fine. So, only do the stuff you’re getting a kick out of. (Applause) It cannot be simpler: if you’re always doing what you get a kick out of, it works like a charm; follow that rule, and everything will be all right. Do it only together with those you want to hug. (Applause) Because everything lights up around them and near them. I collect those, I have this collection of happy joyful people, in one group, in another group, in the third one. I have no other. Don’t let cynics or whiners in. Period. A separate section for cynics, another one for whiners, and a separate one for the happy ones. (Laughter) I will tell you, they will envy you and run over to your side. No need to teach anyone, they will want it themselves. 

Along the same lines, at “Melnitsa” we have a week long immersion in happiness where the first thing is to transform yourself, your hair, which I don’t have, of course, but those who do, transform it, and I can transform my beard like that, or put curls in it. Transform yourself, change your clothes, if you wore grey, try on green, and the other way around, it’s a kick toward you expanding your world, you start crawling out of your own self. First into your hair, then into your suit, then into the room, into your friends, then out into your village, and into your city. It’s important, once you understood what you are all about, it’s important to fill as much space as possible with this. Kind of reveal yourself, fulfill yourself. 

So, what is that creativity that makes everyone happy for some reason? For me, there are about three or four main things. It’s a game: try and do everything you usually did seriously, try to play at it. In fact, it is quite an amazing thing! When I was signing a contract on Broadway for nine months, (Laughter) it came to the point where I started freaking out, taking medicine, a doctor checked me up, because I was panicking, afraid that my favorite baby will get turned into some Broadway piece of crap. And then we realized: one more step and I’ll go nuts, because everything I do I try to make it really perfect. That’s when I felt I couldn’t stand it any longer. So we realized it was time to play: one day we came in as punks, next day we came in as those in ties, the day after as somebody else, and we negotiated while acting that way. And everything changed, because it’s not me, it’s him showing off. Everything became easy. If you apply this method of playful attitude toward life, you distance yourself, and life is there while you’re in a free fly and laughing at what happens, and so on. Game is a great key for this story.

Fantasy—they say, “What a daydreamer!,” so I thought, where does creativity begin at all, where do happiness and joy begin? All begins with fantasy, not by thinking, “Here’s life and here’s something weird, some accompanying dreams, fantasies, and imagination, hopes and so on, all on the periphery, while real life is here.” But in fact, this is life, and all that is something on its side, it can never reach such a perfection. And your mission is to try to make this out of that. To try and make life as perfect as your fantasy. When you thought about something, and it suddenly comes to life, that miracle of such a joy and happiness cannot even be experienced any other way. 

When I was only trying to understand why I needed to perform, why I’m out there, what I’m doing there, I realized that there is an expression “anima allegra,” joyful soul. It might have come from the Greeks, I think, from somewhere there. Joyful soul. What is a joyful soul? That’s where we should remember about love. It is probably born out of falling in love with this world. That is, if you’re in love with this world then the joy emerges, because there’s a harmony: great person here and great person there, and together you are a wonderful creature. Because things are tough when you’re not in love with the world. There might be some back doors, but the straightest way is just to love the world. 

But how can you love this world, how can you get to love it at all? Only if you’re a child. Someone out there already said it, looked like me with a different beard. But in order to love this world you need to remain a child. This is the best rule there is. What does it mean, to be a child? What is it, to be a child? (Looking at his note cards) Well, it’s not written here. (Laughter) So, what is it, to be a child? Perhaps, it is something like, “Wow!” Yes, definitely, to be a child means to say every day: “Wow! Wow!” Because this is the definition, this awe before this world through…(Child’s voice from the audience: “I’m a child!”)…Yay! (Slava laughs) (Applause) To be a child is to get surprised, every day get surprised by everything. “What is this? Why is that? How is it here? I want it, too!” And so, in everything: to touch, “Ah, why, what are you doing?” To get yourself into everything, participate in everything, in spite of everything, because this is what it is, the state of “Wow!” I don’t know, I love it when all that stops and this boost of life starts, when you’re no longer reacting, no longer controlling, cannot comprehend anything, just doing something not knowing why, or what for, and so on. Usually, joy has no reason. The real joy has no reason, it just occurs because life is good. That’s why it is here, the main joy occurs in this place. All other joys help a little, but the main joy occurs in here.

Marcel Marceau told me once—I learned from many: sometimes I went to Raikin, sometimes to Marcel Marceau, I used to attach myself to someone and hang there, carrying bags—(Laughter) and he said, “You need to learn only from the great.” I was like, “Oh, that’s very important, what an important thought, I need to act upon it, whom else should I follow?” Now I understand that there’s no need to follow anyone. It turned out that our greatest teachers are our children. So, I follow my granddaughters nonstop now. (Applause) How on earth do they manage to be happy and joyful all the time? A little bit (Makes frustration noises) and life’s awesome again. (Laughter) Really, I’m studying, trying to see how. Still remains a mystery to me. I’m following and recording them, their actions, trying to repeat everything but nothing works that way they can make it work.

Then, the fools in our Academy have a lot of rules which we follow and which work very well. Do not write down a list of problems. What do you need them for? Why do you need such a list? Why do you need the news? Why do you need the TV? All of it is really unnecessary, why on earth get interested in it? (Applause) Write down every tiny achievement, the tiniest success, write it all down, underline, make a total of everyday results. Accumulate the joyful and the beautiful. That’s why in our theater everything is very simple: a show ends, I go backstage and everybody is like, “Well?,” because they all know that they won’t hear a single negative word from me. Try all you want, I will go on, “Again wonderful! I can’t believe you always manage to perform that well!” (Laughter) (Applause) 

Turn the mundane into festive and fantastic. Run—there is a word for it—away from a dull life into the middle of something… Never mind. In short, don’t “dull-shit” your life. (Laughter) (Applause) Why is everybody in grey, anyway? Put on some colors! And so turn every minute of your life into something colorful, joyous, awesome and amazing. I have it all separated in my library: here is all the comical stuff, there is all the absurd, fantastic. For me, those always go together, because the fantastic and the absurd both lead to the other side of the planet, to the other side of life really—might not even be on Earth, but somewhere in the universe. These two things give us some kind of a fantastic balance, when clashing the joyous and the fantastic create such a vision of the world that makes you shiver, gives you goosebumps. (Looks at his arm) “Again, goosebumps!” 

So, fantastic, festive, and mundane—blah, blah, blah—Got it! There is this man in the history of theater, Meyerhold, who said, “If you want to be there, stretch the leg out there, because in order to get there you need to have balance.” It is hard to find a more thorough person on earth. And it’s me. It is even harder to find a more careless person. And it’s also me. So, I’m starting s huge project, and in the middle of it, “Ah!” (starts to walk offstage) because I already imagined how it’s going to end. And then there is thoroughness: until each little hair is not bent to one side, until my show doesn’t smell with exactly the right color, until all of it comes to a place, I cannot fully enjoy the whole thing. So, everything is produced out of these opposite things. You need to be a completely reckless and headless doofus, and at the same time you need to methodically and thoroughly go through every millimeter of what you’re doing. Then forget about that altogether, and it’ll flow out in an unexpected way. And if you don’t preserve that balance, your whole beautiful thing will fall. Or that other very costly thing—it will also fall. That is, those things can only work when you keep both sides at the same time in harmony. Once you shift a little, “Let’s increase the ticket price,”—ah, (starts to fall sideways) or you shift like, “Let’s don’t give a damn about that and just fly free.” (gestures falling from the sky) So, a shift to either side….only balance on the edge, on the edge. (walks a tightrope) 

I always said, “Only do the impossible. Because all the rest will be done by others.” (Applause) It’s true. When you put a star at the very horizon, and then crawl to it, swim in mud, and all the time you feel that beauty that shines upon you. So, when you aspire to the impossible and it comes true in the end, you understand, that’s what you were doing all that for. Then there is no longer mud, nor a deep river, or whatever. 

And here goes the opposite: “But always value what you have.” So, if you don’t plan to land in a mental institution, or even worse than that, there is only one way—balance again. Always aspire to the infinite, and always love every moment of what you have. If you find yourself in a small room, not even yours, rented, temporary, it’s good that you have that place, quiet, warm, where no one bothers you. It gets expanded—you get a garage—okay, I’ll make a theater in a garage, it has a cold draft, no problem. It means you keep those two things balanced every time anyway, and if you stop keeping that balance between the ideal and what you’ve got, which is good fortune, luck, indeed, what have you done to deserve it all? Just like that, doofus, you’ve got things people only dream about all their lives. 

Feet in the water: this is yet another great rule. Feet in the water. What does it mean? Every 12 years I need to change my occupation. It means that every 12 years I stop the train and say, “Thanks. Bye!” And I see where I want to go next. For that you need to get your feet in the water, sit for a month, and figure out: what is it you seek most, why do you want to do it, what do you need it for, whether you need it in the first place. Don’t you ever keep living on auto-pilot, never. Fear the most automatic repetition of what you already saw, know, and have no interest in. Break free—but you can crash big time, this is the biggest problem. Not everyone has the courage. Do you know where courage comes from? If you tried something a hundred times, then you know how tough your courage is. So, you need to try more, the more you try, the more you know, whether it’s worth getting out of or better to endure.

Hooooh!: the last one! (cue card) Create your life the way you create a piece of art. This is the only way to love it. Create your life the way you create a piece of art. Embrace this attitude toward your every step, your every encounter, toward every day of your life.

Thank you.

(Translated from the Russian by Yulia Kallistratova)

Here’s a link to this talk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LxwbPFLUHY

May all beings be happy!