Have You Played Today?

Your body cannot heal without PLAY.

Your mind cannot heal without LAUGHTER.

Your soul cannot heal without JOY.

                                                                  ~ Catherine Rippenger Fenwick

For the 500th day in a row, I sat at my dining room table working. I love what I am working on—the Kids Super Journal. It’s fun. It’s purposeful work that feels like play. My mission to empower kids to create their own wellbeing energizes me like nothing I’ve ever done. But I was sitting there for the 500th day and felt nothing. No joy. No juice. No enthusiasm. I was a car trying to run on flat tires. I couldn’t go. I just sat there.

I’m a positive person. My glass is not just half-full, it’s overflowing. I am an extrovert that loves to play. Play is how I live. It’s what brings me joy. I get up in the morning and choose what to wear like a 5-year-old playing dress-up. My bookshelves are 80 percent filled with children’s books and I have fun everywhere from the dentist to Disneyland. Finding a sense of fun and adventure–even during challenging times–has healed my life. It’s a natural way of being for me. It sets things right for me. Pre-pandemic, I spent my days filled with in-person connection teaching children and adults and belonging to communities that energized my being. It all felt like play all day long. Then it was gone.

It dawned on me in my flat-tire-state, that the last 2.5 years have taken a toll. I am weary. I am in grief over a pile of losses I have not had space to process. Too much change. The lack of space to play. It also dawned on me that I am not alone. We are a world of human beings who have lived a traumatic event for the past 2.5 years. Things have changed. We have all experienced some kind of loss. I believe we all need to heal. An essential part of that healing is finding a way back to play. Research tells us why.

The Science Behind Play for Everyone

Play has been proven so important for children that it is recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right for every child. The vital need for play is documented as an essential element for optimal and healthy child development. But that’s not all. A relatively new area of study—the effects of play on adults—is revealing that in our adult years, play has similar positive effects on the brain as it does in childhood and that it is just as essential for healthy living. Research shows that play for adults and children:

·      Improves brain function

·      Stimulates the mind and boosts creativity

·      Improves relationships and connection to others

·      Keeps one feeling young and energetic

·      Relieves stress and promotes wellbeing

Stuart Brown, psychiatrist and founder of the National Institute for Play (yes there is one) says, “Play is a basic human need, as essential to our well-being as sleep, so when we’re low on play, our minds and bodies notice.” He recommends that the most impactful way to reap the benefits of play for adults is the same as it is for children: incorporate play into our every day lives, “not just wait for that two-week vacation.”

Humans are hardwired to experience multiple levels of play which light up our brains like pinball machines sending healthy signals to our bodies and minds that promote well-being in every aspect of living. Those areas of play include:

·      Body Play: using the body to run and jump into a pile of leaves; playing on a playground (with or without your kids!)

·      Object Play: catching and throwing a ball; building a model airplane

·      Social Play: playing board games with friends; cooking with others

·      Rough and Tumble Play: wrestling, shouting, physical playfulness

·      Spectator Play: watching sporting events, attending the symphony or theater

·      Imaginative Play: alone time to create stories, imaginative scenarios, artwork, music, day dream on purpose

·      Narrative Play: telling stories to friends about life experience—factual or fictitious; listening to stories

Brown adds that how we play in adulthood is as unique to individuals as a fingerprint. It could be anything from coloring (note the popularity of adult coloring books) to climbing Mount Everest. Research shows that what is important to firing the brain and creating joy and wellbeing is the act of playing itself, not the specific type of play. Signs of not having enough play in your life, according to Brown, can include being cranky, having low energy, feeling stuck or rigid, or even feeling victimized by life.

Hmmmm. Low energy all right. I can’t run on flat tires. Play is the air I need. You might need it, too. Today, I am going to make a “PLAY LIST.” Here is a link for 70 Ideas you can add to yours.

Play feels good. When you feel good, you can do more good. For yourself, your family, your friends, and this beautiful world we inhabit. Research has proven it is the same for every human on the planet from the start of life to its finish. Go out and play today. On purpose. Now, what to wear…