That's all very well and good, but these are serious times. Between rising to the scent of the coffee maker and flossing our teeth before bed, there is a plethora of things to be done. Bills to be paid. Clothes to wash. Work to get to, and do -- hopefully somewhat efficiently despite the chronic lack of sleep. Groceries to buy, cook, consume. People to look after. While having a few laughs or exploring our personal creativity might be on the agenda, it often is not a priority item.
Can it be?
Possibly. Won't it be just another thing we end up having no time for? And as that no-time-to-play-ness heaps up over the week, another thing we can beat ourselves up for not doing. What's the value of it anyway?
I'm glad you asked. Of course, you would naturally assume I am an advocate for playfulness, and you'd be right. I'm not playful because some scientist or medical professional suggested it to me. I just sort of arrived there naturally. I'm an imaginative person, yet, I spent too many years being seriously serious, ended up someplace I didn't want to be, and then wished to find a path back to the me I used to be.
At that point, challenging myself to be artistic at all was huge. I wanted to be more inventive, yet I struggled with doubt and procrastination. I retrained as a graphic designer feeling that this work would allow me to be more creative while earning a wage. Struggling with any sense of self-worth, I began to take voice lessons - a very serious business in a lot of ways -- as much as I wanted to sing, everything in me told me day after day that I was hopeless and this was a huge waste of time and money. To help myself feel more confident on stage, I decided to take some acting lessons (Method Acting).To mitigate the angst of my singing journey, I took classes in improvisational theatre (a la 'What's My Line') hoping it would lighten things up a bit.
Even still, I ended up at my doctor's office with chest pains. After a good look at me, he said there was nothing wrong with my heart. I was so stressed and burnt out it was affecting me physically. I had to make some changes.
I started by getting up every morning and walking along the ocean, feeling the clean air, smelling the sea, taking time to look at my surroundings and realize how lucky I was to live in such a lovely place. I started to keep a gratitude journal. I got more involved with improv, doing lighting or sound for the shows, listening to people laugh, laughing myself at the absurdities presented by the teams of actors. It was a lot for me to step in front of people to do wacky things off the cuff and not worry about how I looked. But when I was able to let go, it was great.
According to psychologists, playfulness is a good thing. It makes us more innovative. We may see and appreciate the small things. Laughing is good for us. It reduces stress. We may get out and about more, meaning we're more physically active. Playfulness gives us a sense of hope or lightness of being, because it suspends time. We are 'being' in a different way, in a different place.
Since I detest housework, I may take ChatGPT up on its suggestion that I pretend I'm a character in a comedy and narrate my surroundings in a humorous way. Or keep a bottle of bubbles by my desk and blow bubbles from time to time -- maybe when I am on Zoom calls. Or take myself on an imaginary vacation. It's all about being child-like a few minutes at a time, a few minutes a day.
I have to run now. My 'Long John Silver' character is about to confront my 'Mr. Spock' character. Sparks may fly, logic or not -- I told Spock not to eat the last donut! Sighs.
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