play and creativity... honoring their role on our insides

“The Creation of Something New is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct acting from INNER NECESSITY.” – Carl Jung

I LOVE this quote. It puts so many things in play in my mind and heart.

Like how, I have always felt in my heart that I am a very creative soul.

Like how, when I was a teen, I all but cut off my creativity due to a perfectionist leaning personality. (And what a profound effect the blocking of creativity had on my soul for many years).

Like how, when I was younger, I forgot how to really relax- and to play.

I was a part of a Single Mother household with 4 kids ages 1, 3,4, and almost 6. I was the oldest, and as the oldest I grew into my very overdeveloped sense of “keeping the household together” early on. I leaned into my role to “mend and attend” and found my purpose in doing so.

But there was a cost to doing well in my role in our little family unit.

I never really developed my sense of play as a child.

*Play for the sense of delight.

*Play for the sense of fun.

*Play for the possibility of creating something new.

Now I want to be clear, no one ever said that I could not or should not play- I just focussed on “doing” tasks instead of dwelling in the realm of playful fun or imagination as a kid.

I grew up and continued to focus on the “to do” list, the “shoulds” and I knew that I was missing that freewheeling fun factor called “play” that seemed to come so naturally to most of the other kids my age. As I went through teen and young adult years, I thought that I was just a naturally “older soul “at heart- that my lack of freeplay was just “normal” for my personality.

And so I began to raise a family with an underdeveloped ability to play with life. Which makes a person serious. And at times also made me sad. Why did I take everything so darn seriously? This became more and more a question in my mind when my babies arrived.

Guess what they wanted with ALL of their little beings? TO PLAY! WITH ME!

I began to ask myself these questions more and more. How could I relax, pause, breathe, have fun, be silly, and PLAY MORE?  Especially now that I had adult responsibilities on my plate?

I began to notice that my creativity and imagination about my life and its’ possibilities also were suffering greatly.

I felt the questions inside low but strong:

COULD I STILL LEARN TO PLAY NOW THAT I WAS AN ADULT?

COULD I CREATE WAYS TO HONOR THE CREATIVITY THAT WAS INSIDE ME AND TO EXPRESS IT IN MY DAILY LIFE?

WAS I TOO LATE TO CREATE THE LIFE WHERE MY LIGHT SHINED BRIGHTER THAN IT COULD WITHOUT PLAY?

Have you ever felt that you may be too late to PLAY or to CREATE in your life?

In my case, I can honestly attribute my reclaiming my ability to PLAY first to my awareness that it was missing in me, and then to my three lovely children and my nieces and nephews. Over the years, their sweet presence and curiosity allowed me to melt out of my ‘to do’ list way of living more and more often.

I learned to connect and to play with my kids- and to see life through their eyes. Fresh, new, exciting, daunting, scary, daring, FUN, beautiful and MAGICAL, And by doing so, over time, my lovelies re-connected me to what matters most:

TO BE PRESENT. TO SLOW DOWN. TO LISTEN. TO NOTICE. TO EXPLORE. TO BE GOOFY. TO SOFTEN INTO YOUR OWN SENSE OF CURIOSITY AND WONDER. TO BE BRAVE. TO SMILE, HUG, LAUGH AND PRANCE AROUND IF YOU MUST. TO BE IN NATURE. TO SEE YOURSELF IN THE EYES OF THOSE YOU LOVE. TO HONOR THE DELIGHT IN YOU. And TO TRUST YOUR INNER NEED TO PLAY AND TO CREATE!

 I have learned. Everything new comes from our inner need to play. We can’t hold the need to create back. If we do, our insides cry out. Act out. And it hurts.

 We do have a choice. It is never too late to play, to unleash our curiosity. And to honor the creative Light that lies within each of us.

I believe that each Soul has its’own Light to bring.

I am challenging myself: Play your life full out…In full Presence…to the best of my ability each day.

Ask yourself- What could I possibly create if I allowed the ‘playful’ out- at full power????

I am guessing that ideas and Light are flowing already……

Sending You Love and Light xxoo  Laura Lynn