I want to touch more deeply on the topic of PLAY. Ideally PLAY and creativity should be connected, should be tapping the same place. The difficulty we have in western/ modern society, is that we don’t really play. We are very disconnected from that place, of playing. There is an excellent book, playing by heart- that touches on this topic in more depth. But essentially, we don’t play. We recreate. We have structured activities, structures games that have outcomes, rules, and expectations. And even though we play games they have structure and a goal, of wining. And that isn't really playing... it's competition. Why do we think of this as "fun?"
I think, in our culture, it has created a paradigm that associates playing, and winning. We need to win in order to have the satisfaction of playing. When in fact, playing, in and of itself has no expectation and outcome. The difference being, when we play with an expectation of outcome, we put a stress on it. There is an anxiety, an expectation. Genuine playing has no parameters. Its’ colouring outside the lines. It’s not meeting external or internal expectations. There is no assessment. There’s no time frame and it is not a reward. Playing in and of itself is the reward.
A little kid might follow a butterfly for an hour, following it from flower to flower. That is the action of playing. It is engaging. It is being present in the moment, being caught up in wonder. Colouring- not because you want to be an artist, but because you just like the colours.
Playing when it is a reward or a punishment, or parameters are set onto it… stifles creativity. When we say: okay, I will do this this, and this, and then I will play. Or, if we say, I will play for 10 minutes, and then I need to do my work. What we do, when we do this, is we separate out the significant elements of the function of play, as though it is not integral to everything we do. There are a lot of inspirational, advice people, guru’s etc.. and the essential message from many of them is—if you love what you do, then your job is not work- tedious and painful. More or less.
When you bring your passion and enthusiasm into your work, when that creative and play-aspect is incorporated into the rest of our lives, we look forward to going to work. It is fun, pleasant and we are engaged on all our levels. So one thing that will really serve us, is if we can learn how to tap back into that aspect of our creativity and play, into the things we are doing. For children this is instinctive and automatic. Kids, cleaning their room might pretend the toys on the floor need rescuing from shark infested water. As parents, we engage our children with play in order to accomplish things. Getting a baby to open his mouth for the airplane, in order to eat his/ her dinner… As children we engage in play, and as adults- we utilize play aspects in order to engage our children into cooperation. And yet, as adults, we ourselves, are separated from that aspect. There is no creativity- it is supposed to be “work.”
It stops being fun. Sometimes through listening to that intuitive place, we realize we are disconnected from play- which involves a job change. Because what we are doing isn’t play. This is a scary place to be. Hearing WHAT that inner voice has to say, truths that make us uncomfortable. And often, we don’t want to hear it, and we stifle it. We end up in places that does not feed our passion. The work we are doing doesn’t have a reward. So the part of us that wants to be engaged feels like it is being punished. Being stifled. Being pushed aside. Just like a little kid. Mommy doesn’t have time now. Mommy’s busy. Ask me later. That little kid is always being pushed aside, pushed aside. That little kid that wants to be connected and be part of your life, goes away. So a lot of us, as adults, need to re-nurture that relationship, bring that connection back on board..gently. But it’s not going to be right there and jump back into your life at maximum power. Just like a little kid, it’s going to peek around the corner: hesitant, reluctant, unsure- ‘do you really want me?’ is this going to last very long, or are you going to change your mind and send me back to sit in the corner again?
So building that relationship, as though building a relationship with a child. And building a relationship with that inner-child, brings that creativity and intuition back on board, gives you vision. And those are very powerful tools that you want to have. And we will have them, whenever we want or need to utilize them.
But, like that child-relationship, there is an element of reciprocal relationship. We can’t just put them aside and continue to ignore them when they show up. And sometimes, there is a negotiation, or bargaining agreement that takes place. Because it is a reality that we cannot always stop and indulge what society perceives, and our bosses perceive, as our whims. Sometimes we do have to say, ‘Now is not the time.” Or we develop strategies that work with that mid-ground.
I often carry my digital recorder, so I can make notes, or quickly dictate the outline of information. This way, I can come back to it later, with as much rough-data as possible. Or carrying a note pad, and making a few notes of something, enough to remind me later. I write enough to remember what it was, and any relevant associations. So that I know I had an idea for an article, and what was relevant about that topic. This helps in terms of productivity. But it is also an agreement with that creative element that says: I will come back to this. And it is important that we maintain that ‘agreement,’ and go back to that information or idea. In this way, we are fostering that relationship. We are saying- this is good, and I like it. We are not saying no, we are just saying, not right now.
So by coming back to it, we are honouring it, and saying thank you for waiting. When we come back to that information or idea, we may find that it isn’t as vital and rich as when we first had the idea- but as this practice develops… we find that that clarity and intensity builds and comes back more fully and with ease.
For example, I never used to dream very much. If someone asked me, I would have sworn that I didn’t dream. Even though I know this is biologically impossible. Aside- without dreaming, we would actually and literally go insane. But for all intents and purposes, in terms of any recollection. I would say, no: I didn’t dream. Someone suggested I try keeping a dream journal- this was in relation to intuitive work I was doing. At first I was very doubtful- since I never remembered any dreams. I was sure all I would have was blank pages in a pretty book. And yet, as I made a point of writing down my dreams very first thing in the morning… I started to remember my dreams more and more. It started a little slowly: one or two in fragments. But, I got to the point where I was clearly remembering 3-5 dreams, vividly with great detail every morning.
And I would go through the day, and see something which would spark a memory from dreams… it was a very interesting exercise. And it clearly demonstrated that we can, in fact, strengthen those relationships just by bringing our attention and intention to them. But those two things need to be coupled with an action. I didn’t remember more dreams just by trying to think about them. I began to remember dreams when I made a regular practice and took the action of writing them down.
So you can develop and strengthen that relationship. The more you use it, the more it gets stronger, quicker and more effective. So it’s really important to build that relationship. It is your inner voice, your intuition speaking to you and the creative aspect of who you are. Once you develop that connection, life begins to unfold differently, and then to find out where it leads you. Life becomes a journey of exploration, and discovery.
Ideally, that brings back into our lives, that sense of wonder. When we are no longer trying to anticipate and create an outcome, we can shift into a frame of mind that asks: where is this going? And be led by curiosity and exploration in our lives. And that changes the way we live. From trying to get to a destination, to how the journey unfolds for us. And that is a really big and powerful transformation. It doesn’t happen automatically. There are some tools and exercises that can help bring that creativity and intuition back on board. Just like learning a new sport or activity, it starts slowly, but once you begin to make that connection you build it.
Once you build it, you’re going to find its always there. Always accessible. And a handy tool to have in your repertoire. Whether it is about dealing with relationships, making life changes, gaining perspective on events, or inspiration in your business. Tapping into your inner resources, opens whole new dimensions, perspectives, and new pathways.
