So many times I have wished for a window into the future, into the consequences of my choices.
Seeking certainty in my decisions, weighing my intuition against the feedback in my environment, just to be sure I am getting the best deal, walking the right path, doing the proper thing.
All along I have sought clarity to fuel my certainty. I thought that clarity would provide assurance as if my choices could ever be right or wrong.
The day I chose acceptance over assurance is the day I began to realize there are no good and bad choices, no right or wrong.
When I seek assurance in my choices, I am doubting my capacity to be flexible, creative, and resilient.
When I seek to accept my choices I engage compassion for myself and confidence that I will be ok no matter what choice I make.
Funny how we assign emotions, assume other’s perspectives, and assimilate outside experiences as our own.
The body works so hard to represent the advisory panel of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations, but sometimes it doesn’t always get that representation right. Sometimes we read too much into posture, expression, engagement. We jump to conclusions.
All along, it’s just a series of labels we attach to things to create order — an illusion that we have some sort of control.
Let the labels wash away and then what is there? Energy — plain and simple chemical reactions — that whimsically attach to illusions. Eliminating the labels, we engage our intuition, not just our eyes, to interpret our surroundings. It is not always what I see that informs, but how it bumps up against me energetically.
The real gift in communication and connection is tapping into that energy.
Bored…or relaxed?
Impatient…or enthusiastic?
Sad…or peaceful?
Or maybe the energy isn’t connected to the expression at all.
Lose the labels…make the deeper connections…feel the power in knowing beyond seeing.
What if your daily experiences were really no different than your dreams – simply stories pieced together to provide information. Stories intended to awaken in you parts that are dormant, numb, forgotten or that would otherwise go unnoticed. Each of these stories placed before you to illuminate a potential to think, feel, and engage differently beyond what is familiar and routine.
When I move my body in a new way, I awaken unfamiliar yet exciting new connections with muscles and bones. When I move my thoughts with curiosity, not always believing I have the answer, I am no longer reticent but have rubbed the sleep from my eyes. When my emotions flow freely, even to the point of creating discomfort, I welcome the new dawn of compassion, courage, trust, and forgiveness.
I awaken an inner knowing, like the sun illuminating the sky. I am suddenly aware of something far greater than these dreams. I rise from the darkness knowing my capacity to explore, play, experiment, feel and know, all the while aware that the stories do not make me.
Practice spontaneity…not reckless abandon…rather transfer the decision making to your higher self. Let your intuition choose what comes next and experience the ultimate form and expression of your creativity.
Instead of calling it work and begrudging it, what if today you call it play. Approach the to-do list with curiosity and wonder as if something new and exciting were about to unfold. Carry a smile in your pocket and wish genuine happiness to all those around you. Treat your space of work as a playground. Let your mind play tag with creativity. Flow through tasks and conversations as if gliding across the monkey bars. Delight in small accomplishments with the same flutter in your belly as when you first learned to swing. Invite play into your day. Feel big, free, and happy.
Artwork by Susan Kerr (www.susankerrinspiration.com)
We all remember growing up. The first time we twirled or rolled so much that laughter, interlaced with a smidgeon of fear, burst from within us as the world spun around uncontrollably and the mind tucked away a note to maybe spin a little less next time. We sampled the roles of mommy or daddy, worker, leader, follower, and friend as we played dress up together or joined in team games on the playground. We dropped objects from tables, stairwells, and out car windows with genuine awe as the mysteries of how these things worked unfolded before our very eyes. We spontaneously erupted in play, as we naturally found new ways to move the body, new ways to see the world, new ways to feel connected with it all.
When children engage in play, they engage in an adventurous journey through the unknown. Play allows you to take chances, to explore edges, to uncover workings of the physical body, subtleties in social and emotional dynamics, expressions of creativity, and to conduct investigations and form solutions through active problem solving. Play is the foundation of learning. Play is critical for growth. Play is an essential element in the development of a bright, well-rounded, well-adjusted person.
Why then do we limit play to children? Why, as they grow older, do we discourage children from going to this natural place of curiosity, wonder, and learning? Why, when we become adults, does play disappear?
While there may be a question about whether you can form new neuron synapses or the brain can improve its functionality after a certain age, there is no question that play, at any age, provides an opportunity for exploration, sensation, and learning.
So, grab your neighbor’s hand and go run through that pile of leaves in the middle of the yard, or roll down that grassy hill, or scoop up some snow or sand and build with it. Dip your fingers in paint and slide them across an empty canvas. Lie on your back, grab your feet and roll from side to side like a happy baby. Smile, laugh, and dig deep down into your inner child and let it shine in the wonder, curiosity, and learning of play.
If you’re worried about what other folks may think as you get silly, serious, loud, or creative in your play, invite them to join in. Free yourself and others from the misperception that there is no room in adulthood for play. Engaging in play could be the best thing to keep you agile in mind, body, and spirit and ensure a lifetime full of curiosity, wonder, and awe. Imagine what you might not discover, what you might not feel, what you might not learn, who you might not become if you never played.
Play is the work of children…and of healthy adults too.
Monday Mindfulness 