I've been thinking more about this Tig Notaro clip. What a bold statement that was. The impulse for most people, I think, would be to go on a show like that and talk straight about the hardship they've gone through. I mean she overcame cancer. But she came out and shrugged that off.
She used the opportunity to do a bit. It was nothing short of fantastic.
It also showed a better way to approach things. Showed that every opportunity is one where you can give the expected response or decide to blow people away with your words and actions. Her coolness, her calm serenity may have been learned through her struggle but she didn't dwell on it. She used cancer as her springboard which is absolutely stunning.
It's easy to wonder how many people would have done this. Taken what they were invited to talk about and flip it on it's head. Taken a chance on something that could fall completely flat and miss the opportunity to talk about the easy lesson. But by making a joke out of the situation, she allowed herself to do something different. A better way to talk about living in the moment than just talking about it.
Oh, and referring to Conan as "this guy" was brilliant.