I really wish everyone would stop being so serious all the time. Yes, there are frightening things happening in the world, yes our future is uncertain, yes there are a million things to do AND the best way for us to show up in this world as our most powerful selves, is to tap into our innate creativity and find a better way.
“To stimulate creativity one must develop childlike inclination for play and the childlike desire for recognition.” – Albert Einstein
It feels like we are being responsible when we are serious and busy and worrying about everything. Isn’t that our job as grown-ups? To run the household, to pay the bills, to bring home the bacon and fry it up too? Well yes, AND it is also our birthright to ENJOY our time on earth.
I have been to some of the most impoverished places on the planet. I have seen people living in deep poverty and under harshly unjust systems of oppression. And in those same places I have witnessed JOY emanating in a way I rarely see here in my tidy neighborhood.
Children wearing torn and pinned together clothes laughing and dancing and PLAYING with a curiosity that is contagious. Women carrying 50 pound bags of rice on their heads dressed in the most beautiful fabrics, bright colors and patterns that seem alive. Some of the most fun I have ever had was dancing in their bars where everyone is included and silliness rules.
It’s easy to think that I have something to offer them, my closet full of clothes, pantry stuffed with food. But all of the STUFF that I have worked to collect means nothing if I can’t belly laugh on a regular basis.
Being creative means arranging life in a way that feels
supportive of our JOY.
What did you love to do when you were a kid?
What are you curious about now?
Who are you envious of?
Any reaction is important to notice. Negative or positive, your emotions are your clues. If you feel jealous of someone, that is good information. What is it about them that irks you? What do they seem to have that you seem to lack?
You’re telling yourself you don’t have time. You can’t do A.R.T. because you have a J.O.B.
Taking even 15 minutes to play, to engage with something for no purpose other than to experience it, can recharge your brain and make you even more efficient at work.
Think of something you spend time on regularly that you could swap out.
Checking social media?
Watching TV?
Vacuuming?
Folding laundry?
Making lunches?
Now ask someone else to do it (No, they won’t do it to your standards, but that’s ok for today. Don’t worry, you’ll have another chance to do it your way) and make time for yourself to play. Invite your kids to join you. Set a timer if you need to. Some things to try:
Rip up a magazine and rearrange the pieces.
Move some paint around on a piece of paper
Pull out your watercolor set and experiment
Make a tower with blocks
Squeeze some play-dough
Scribble with crayons
Take some photos of beauty
Write a letter to yourself, or to a friend
Daydream
You don’t need to create a masterpiece, you don’t need to have any evidence of your work. That is not the point. The point is that playing makes you alive in the moment, present, and that is where JOY is found.
In their book Wired to Create Scott Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire blend psychology, neuroscience and case studies to highlight practices and habits that promote creative thinking.
“Creative self-expression, in its many forms, can be a particularly powerful means of coping with life’s inevitable challenges. People who engage regularly in creativity report a greater sense of well-being and tend to be more open minded, imaginative, intellectually curious, energetic, outgoing, persistent and intrinsically motivated by their activity.”
This feeds into all areas of life. We start to see new answers to old problems, and new ways of seeing the world that can be liberating for ourselves and others. So you are actually serving society when you make time to play.
“This can take the form of approaching a problem in a new way, seeking out beauty, developing and sticking to our own opinions (even if they’re unpopular), challenging social norms, taking risks, or expressing ourselves through personal style.” (Kaufman & Gregoire).
And I think we can all use more of that.
If this feels overwhelming or impossible, let me know, I am here to help!