mossyfawnron

“Do you play in your daily life? What says playtime to you?”

“Play” is something that adults don’t take seriously, don’t practice enough, or both.

Play can mean doing something that brings out or heals your inner child.

For some this is literally playing, with actual toys, whether ones for kids (like dolls or blocks) or ones made specifically for adults (like tiny magnetic balls,) or made for both (like boutique slime and lego!) I love my stuffed animals, especially my giant frog i got for christmas as a kid. I lost the original, but i was gifted another one from the same person this past christmas. It was really nice and healing!

For others, play is just moving with a carefree attitude, no inhibition or doubts, like a kid having fun. This can be moving your body without care, dancing like nobody is watching, twisting yourself into weird sitting positions (being upside down on the couch is more fun than you think), or even no-rules flowy yoga.

Play can also be creating art. painting, sketching, drawing, making jewelry, knitting, crocheting, and ceramics are just a few. I participate in this form of play a lot!

I also enjoy listening to nostalgic music. For me this is Genesis, Journey, Peter Gabriel, Styx, early 2010s country (Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood), late 2000s emo music (Fall Out Boy and Avril Lavigne), and soundtracks to animated movies (Tarzan and Rango). Music has shaped me in so many ways and I like to sort of regress to my younger self’s mindset to listen to memorable songs from my childhood. I remember having a white idog, those little dog shaped speakers who tapped their foot to the beat, and I would play Matthew Wilder’s “break my stride” on repeat. now whenever I hear the song I get transported to that time in my life, and it’s a very fun experience! I might have to get myself an idog again to heal that inner child a bit more.