Children, likely, do not have to learn how to play and they are creative in their playfulness. In contrast, adults can forget or poo poo play as a waste of time, serving no purpose, and nonproductive.
A few years ago I hit a wall - exhausted and feeling like I had no creative juices left. It was scary - normally a person with a million ideas, I had nothing. This was the face of my burnout - I simply no longer could imagine. It was very scary. My wise teachers at Pacifica told me - Lish, you need to play more. My inner voice, honestly, thought - what does that even look like. This was how entrenched I was in my task orientation. They encouraged things like reading poetry, listening to music, going for walks, taking on a creative practice, and laughing. It was like a slow iceberg melt but over time I felt that renewed sense of spark and possibility. It was a long time - like a year or more. I offer this so you’ll see and read the impact of not playing enough. As I’m thinking about wellness and what it means to be well - I thought I have to include play in the list!!
“Of all animal species, humans are the biggest players of all. We are built to play and built through play. When we play, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, the truest expression of our individuality.”
In his book entitled Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul - Dr. Brown noted this: “The ability to play is critical not only to being happy, but also to sustaining social relationships and being a creative, innovative person.” (p. 6). Gulp. How often do we adults negate play feeling guilty for wasting time? Years ago in one of the offices I worked in, we had a table set up with a picture puzzle. Anyone at any time throughout the day could work the puzzle. What I found was that if I was “stuck” not knowing what to write or think next, I could spend a bit of time around the puzzle and all of a sudden a thought or idea would come to me. This is the power of play. Brown goes on to describe many health benefits of play including stress relief, increased brain function, and boosts in creativity. So today is all about going out to play!!
Quote source: Link to Amazon
