Have You Forgotten How To Play?

This morning I was playing with our new puppy Pax (The Peace Dog) and he loves to fetch the ball and then have me chase him to get it back.  I love playing this simple game with him because he seems so happy just playing.  Playing too often kind gets lost as we get to be adults.  Life takes on a more and more serious tone, as we get older.  Is this really necessary that we push the playfulness away?  Do we have to leave the child in us behind and get so serious?

I think not.  Let me tell you why.  Playfulness is essential to feeling alive.  All of life including work is only something we take seriously because we are trained to do so.  No I don’t want a doctor doing surgery while making like a clown but humor and laughter would be good.  Yes even in the most intense places I have worked being playful has been a good way to deal with the job stressors.  In my days working in a psych ward, it was playfulness and humor that kept us sane.  

All creativity comes from a willingness to play with ideas.  Love that is alive involves playing and enjoying those you love.  Have passion for what you do includes being playful and finding joy in what matters to you.  Living with purpose also means playfully pursuing what you are here to do.  Your inner child has to play or it will shrink into passivity and life will seem awfully boring.  Even the spirit within you needs to have playtime or it will not be heard from much.

Find ways to be playful everyday and enjoy the lightness that comes into your life.  You are here primarily to have fun and enjoy life not matter what other people have told you.  You are here to fully express your uniqueness in whatever way feels full of life for you.  You have so much to give, why not make it fun.