Be Playful for Balance
By Lauren
There is a huge part of ourselves that we have resigned to ignore once we reach a certain age. At what point do we stop indulging in doing things that are fun for the sake of fun, like we would do when we were children. We dismiss a lot of our impulses to giggle and be silly because it is ‘inappropriate’ and we have fears of what others will think of us. At what age did we say we are now adults therefore we are not allowed to jump on trampolines, blow bubbles, colour-in amongst other fun child hood activities?
Playfulness is such a key aspect to creating balance, joy and passion in our lives. We need to undo some of the beliefs that have been programed into us from a young age that being playful is not appropriate. Playfulness comes from a place within us that is pure and connected to our soul; it is an uninhibited version of ourselves, so why would we pacify these feelings or urges.
What I propose is that we start to incorporate more ‘childlike’ things into our daily interactions to create a sense of joy and connectedness to our own soul and spirit itself. Let go of life’s stifling constrictions on what is right or wrong behaviour and start listening to the inner voice that asks that we follow what feels good and right for us.
Now I’m not saying that we should adopt juvenile behaviours like seeking instant gratification, selfishness or irrationality, which can also throw us off balance. I’m saying that we have swayed so far in the other direction that we feel guilty for wanting to do things that make us happy and even supress healthy expressions of joy like laughter. It is possible to be mature and playful at the same time.
In order to bring us back into harmony take on everyday with the attitude that you are going to be playful. Think about some things that will induce joy and affirm that is it ok to do things that are fun for the sake of fun.
Do things that make you laugh (Laugh out loud as often as you can) be creative, be active, spend time socializing with others, use your imagination and daydream often. Once playfulness becomes a normal daily interaction it will change our perception and interaction with our lives.
If we repress a lot of our natural urges to express ourselves out of fear of social reprimand we in fact live a repressed life; one that is not fully liberated and authentic. We have many years of belief systems to undo about what classifies age appropriateness or adult behaviour. By opening up to a mentality closer to that of a child, it can aid us in removing fears that we have around doing the things that we want, ignoring judgement of others. By embracing our more playful selves everyday we interact with the world without fear and less apology.