I’ll be honest...I am not an expert in play. In fact, I tend to take myself too seriously a lot of the time and struggle to find the sense of freedom and joy that seems to come from playing.
So, I was wondering (because I’m also very analytical) what constitutes play and how does one cultivate it?
It seems we can define play in different ways. When we do the things we love and are passionate about it feels like playing.
AND...when we consider play in relation to the inner child it seems to be an even more freeing experience. In this kind of play, we do something for the joy of doing it...and nothing else.
We release expectations on how many calories our run will burn, how much we can sell our painting for or dancing to look a certain way. Pure playing is letting our inner child-that we might have pushed to the side years ago, have a say in our daily activities.
This may involve listening to the spontaneous suggestions of taking a different route to walk on or stopping at a different store. Calling up a friend instead of finishing that project for work or grabbing an ice cream cone on the way home.
When we begin to listen to this voice it becomes a more present part of our reality.
Connecting with our inner child is more of a receptive space that we can open up to rather than something we force. It’s an allowing on our part, to be willing to integrate our playful aspect as a companion on our journey.
Starting now, let us listen to the quiet nudges of our inner child and see what he/she has to say.
When you feel yourself wanting to do something out of the ordinary and spontaneous...follow it...explore how that feels. Give it a try and see if you can play for the sake of playing, no expectations. If you are worried about looking crazy you are probably on the right track!
Let’s see what opens up!💛✨💛
Comments