Jesus Christ on a Jetski

or, How Cannabis Can Help People Connect and Create

Everyone* (*yes, you) is creative at the core. FREE THE IDEA provides tips, tricks, and support to help you get ideas out of your head and into the world. Become a FREE subscriber below.

My brother Dan and I are in Northern Michigan for a few days opening up a musty, 100+ year-old cabin for the season. We are looking out on this view, both having taken a deliberate dose* of cannabis (an amount that’s in the “safe zone” allowing for lucidity, conversation, and recall). One of the (many) benefits of cannabis’ active ingredient THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) is that it lowers barriers: Between us and our ideas; but more important, between us and other people.

THC helps to lower barriers that keep us from connecting on a deeper, more empathic level.

Sure, Dan and I can communicate while sober, but we’re more emotionally engaged in conversation while high: We’re shooting the shit about a ton of stuff, riffing off each other, and diving into topics we rarely, if ever, speak about.

Not only do we go deep, we think of the stupidest ideas in the world. Here’s one that proves it:

—

The decline of waterski shows — since their peak in the 1980s — has created a huge cultural chasm. We need to find a way to bring back the pomp and pageantry of this lost art form. (Just witness the complicated choreography and astounding athleticism in the Sea World Baywatch waterskiing spectacular.)

If there’s a group of people that loves pomp and pageantry, it’s Christians (specifically Catholics). But Catholics — even with their “cool” new pope — aren’t likely to lower themselves to the format of a waterski show.

But Protestants? You bet they’d love Jesus on a jet ski.

Introducing:

Jesus: Walks on Water

Watch in wonder as your favorite Biblical characters don waterskis and reënact monumental moments from the New Testament. Thrill to the stories you remember as retold from this new, nautical point-of-view: the Sermon on the Mount, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and more! Whether you’re young or old, believer or doubter, Jesus: Walks on Water will restore your faith in aquatic-based entertainment.

The "Jesus: Walk on Water" show as made manifest by Midjourney

So, what do you think of the idea: intriguing, offensive, or both?

—

Let’s get back on topic: How cannabis helps us find common ground and lowers the barriers to creativity. When family, friends, or strangers are given a way to let their guard down, we can relate to each other easier. We can have those deeper conversations, talk to people on a level we might not normally. I honestly believe two people who are on the opposite side of an issue could find common ground in minutes. And this common ground could be the gateway to solving problems and challenges together.

Perhaps cannabis isn’t your thing. So barring drugs, is there a foolproof way to facilitate felicity that can lead to productive problem-solving? There is now.

Introducing:

Hot Tub for Humanity

Put two people who have wildly different views, lifestyles, or backgrounds in a hot tub and see just how quickly they can find common ground. Real Madrid and Barcelona football fans could become friends in a single evening. Even rivals from opposing “American Political Teams” could find harmonious solutions to this country’s many problems.

Midjourney hallucinated a very odd-looking Chris Hayes, but a spot-on Tucker Carlson. They really seem to have found common ground — and a common arm.

However, there are two opposing factions that Hot Tub Harmony could never unite: Chicago-style vs New York pizza lovers (because everyone knows Lou Malnati’s Chicago deep dish is superior).

Whether or not you think “Hot Tub Harmony” (formerly known as “Moist Friends”) has legs, we should at least try proving the theory by installing several hot tubs on the grounds of the United Nations.

Do you believe cannabis can provide a link to common ground and creativity?