The science of play shows it's an essential lifelong activity to cultivate healthy brain functioning, increase our connection to others, learn faster, and boost the emotional system that drives joy.
This is one of the things I appreciated about Waldorf schools; they valued play, outdoor learning, the arts as part of the curriculum. Also, dance improvisation was always a form of play and group interaction and co-creation. Play isn’t about winning or losing; it is about being present in the moment. Thank you for your ideas and research.
I’ve been wondering for some time now what play looks like for me. This resonated deeply: ‘the thing is, I had literally no idea how to put this into practice in my life. What exactly was play for an adult, in reality? How did I incorporate it on a daily basis?’ I’ve tried creative projects but they often become like work, a production that drives judgement of the outcome instead of something to be present in and enjoy, though I think collage is the exception. I recall times in my life that were filled with play and it often required other people to lift me out of myself, we would egg each other on, it was in the interactions with others that I felt free to be silly. This is an incredibly generous exploration of play giving me lots to explore further and act on - thank you!
I am so glad you enjoyed this! Sorry for the slow reply, this month has been a whirlwind. But anyway, welcome! I am so glad to meet you! Have you made any progress finding more play? I am working on some ideas about play as a mindset, and how to approach more things as play. Lately that’s seemed hard, since things have felt high stakes. Perhaps something to unpack relating to what you’ve shared about the judgement on your own creative projects. That resonates a lot with me!!! Any thoughts?
Oh yes, I apply high stakes to all things in my life! I now have a phrase that's helping me - release duty, pursue joy. I get a bit stuck in the to-do list. So Saturday, I looked around, noticed I was frittering my life away in tasks, and headed to the park. I pocketed a small notepad and a pencil on the way. I am no artist but there's an exercise I picked up last year in a nature workshop - you look at a tree and attempt to draw it without looking at the paper. This really releases me from the judgement side of creating and I love it - I always feel like I've captured the essence of a tree! I've also signed up to a mosaic workshop. It was going to be pottery but I changed at the last minute, this felt more playful, like I didn't need to follow set rules - I'm sure there will be some but I'm hoping they won't mean I can get it right or wrong! Anyway, I included a fantastic quote about forgiveness in my latest post - scroll right to the bottom (it's a long one this week!) - it's related to writing but I think helps a great deal with creative judgement more generally: https://thewondering.substack.com/p/writer-initiated
Great text! Loved it! Thanks for writing it, you made me want to explore this idea further.
Play has so much potential :)
This is one of the things I appreciated about Waldorf schools; they valued play, outdoor learning, the arts as part of the curriculum. Also, dance improvisation was always a form of play and group interaction and co-creation. Play isn’t about winning or losing; it is about being present in the moment. Thank you for your ideas and research.
You're so welcome! Thanks for sharing your versions of play :) It's amazing how many unique styles there are.
I’ve been wondering for some time now what play looks like for me. This resonated deeply: ‘the thing is, I had literally no idea how to put this into practice in my life. What exactly was play for an adult, in reality? How did I incorporate it on a daily basis?’ I’ve tried creative projects but they often become like work, a production that drives judgement of the outcome instead of something to be present in and enjoy, though I think collage is the exception. I recall times in my life that were filled with play and it often required other people to lift me out of myself, we would egg each other on, it was in the interactions with others that I felt free to be silly. This is an incredibly generous exploration of play giving me lots to explore further and act on - thank you!
I am so glad you enjoyed this! Sorry for the slow reply, this month has been a whirlwind. But anyway, welcome! I am so glad to meet you! Have you made any progress finding more play? I am working on some ideas about play as a mindset, and how to approach more things as play. Lately that’s seemed hard, since things have felt high stakes. Perhaps something to unpack relating to what you’ve shared about the judgement on your own creative projects. That resonates a lot with me!!! Any thoughts?
Oh yes, I apply high stakes to all things in my life! I now have a phrase that's helping me - release duty, pursue joy. I get a bit stuck in the to-do list. So Saturday, I looked around, noticed I was frittering my life away in tasks, and headed to the park. I pocketed a small notepad and a pencil on the way. I am no artist but there's an exercise I picked up last year in a nature workshop - you look at a tree and attempt to draw it without looking at the paper. This really releases me from the judgement side of creating and I love it - I always feel like I've captured the essence of a tree! I've also signed up to a mosaic workshop. It was going to be pottery but I changed at the last minute, this felt more playful, like I didn't need to follow set rules - I'm sure there will be some but I'm hoping they won't mean I can get it right or wrong! Anyway, I included a fantastic quote about forgiveness in my latest post - scroll right to the bottom (it's a long one this week!) - it's related to writing but I think helps a great deal with creative judgement more generally: https://thewondering.substack.com/p/writer-initiated