Play

The importance of play, in adult life, cannot be overstated. If you’re old enough to remember the movie The Shining, based on Stephen Kings Novel and specifically Jack Nicholson ‘ s terrifying portrayal of Jack Torrence; who is a writer hoping to cure his writers block by becoming the winter caretaker at an isolated hotel in Colorado, then you may remember the unspoken line, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’

More than “a line”, it’s actually the horrific discovery of Jacks wife and is actually the only thing Jack is able to conjure up and pluck away, sentence after repeated sentence, on his 1970’s Adler Typewriter.

I would hope that overworking wouldn’t cause most of us to go mental and become homicidal maniacs but it definitely takes its toll on our mind and body. Even if you are madly in love with your career, it’s important to find time to be, ‘not so serious’. We can sometimes even tend to be serious about our hobbies or entertainment activities like going to the beach or having a dinner party.
I firmly believe we need to pencil into our calendar times where zero expectations apply. A time that is not ‘outcome’ driven, but solely made for unplugging.

Also, just like relaxing or being adventurous, I believe being playful is a state of mind or an awareness and is a choice. I know that, for me, having expectations is a sure way to kill a playful mood. You can trust that I was really good at this unfortunate behavior at certain times in my life.

I’d always go into situations with good intentions and hell bent on being lighthearted and playful, but something would happen…anything could happen and I’d find myself in a crappy mood. It wasn’t until I finally took responsibility for having rigid expectations, that I was able to make the change and thus, the outcome of my mood. It was quite a liberating self discovery and now I can be in the flow rather than be burdened by my own self inflicted limitations.

All of the blocks that become enormous obstacles in our lives are usually a direct result of our own limiting beliefs and it’s our lack of awareness that tends to keep us stuck. The awesome thing is that with some minor tweaks, we don’t have to remain in that self defeating space.

Being playful is like any other attribute or quality of character we may want to embody….it takes practice to get it right.

If you are wondering how to practice playfulness, go somewhere there are children and observe them. They don’t care who is watching, they’re curiosity driven and play with reckless abandon.

In my mind, being playful is synonymous with being curious and allows for creative discovery.
Like Einstein said, “Play is the highest form of research. ”

Let the discovery continue.

Playfully yours,
🍀The Crazy Celt 💚