Stepping Forward
“Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they’re yours.” ~ Richard Bach. It’s normal and quite easy to delay stepping into our goals and dreams. After all, it’s quite comfy over here. It’s familiar territory and I don’t have to think much. And I absolutely will take on this new goal/dream of mine once I have… more education more money more information more time cleared the slate Is it the truth? Do you really need to wait any longer? “When you stand in your truth, the universe moves to support you.” ~ Lynda Austin A friend of mine followed her dream and became a life coach despite having no money. She paid the registration fee entirely on credit. Not long after registering, she received a letter […]
And then…
“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” ~ Henry David Thoreau. Nurturing imagination in children is an act of love. My friend had some children over and one of them suggested they build a bridge over her large pond to see the goldfish more easily. Instead of telling the child all the reasons why this cannot happen, my friend said, “Yes, and then we can stand on the bridge and see way more fish!” Then another child said, “And then we can lower a tube into the murky water so we can see the fish more easily!” And another said, “And then we could drop bits of food into the tube so we could feed them!” This went on for 30 minutes. Not once […]
3 Stages of Play ~ The Evolution of Life’s Playground
“First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must forget the rules and play from your heart.” ~ Anonymous. Play occurs in three stages, each representing a different period of growth and awareness. As we evolve through these stages, we change our perception of life, and redefine the parameters and possibilities of life’s eternal playground. Stage 1: Innocent Play Stage 2: Structured Play Stage 3: Mature Play * * * Stage 1: Innocent Play “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” ~ Albert Einstein […]
Fool’s Wisdom
“The moment you start seeing life as non-serious, a playfulness, all the burden on your heart disappears. All the fear of death, of life, of love – everything disappears. One starts living with a very light weight or almost no weight. So weightless one becomes, one can fly in the open sky.” ~ Osho. Yesterday may have been April Fools’ Day, but every day is an opportunity to heed the wisdom of your inner Fool. Your inner Fool has much to share. Are you listening? The Fool is the archetypal energy of the inner child. Through innocence and trust, it follows its heart, steps into the unfamiliar and plays outside the lines. It has no interest in being bound by social convention and expectations. It wants […]
Dream Boldly, Act Courageously
Dream Big. Anything is Possible. For us to create our dreams, they must be stronger than the fears and doubts that hold us back. What is your dream? Is it to paint? Travel? Have a family? Is it to run a marathon? Get in shape? Learn to play an instrument? Perhaps it is small. Maybe for a while you’ve been wanting to have friends over for a games night. Or maybe you’ve wanted to have a day just to yourself. I heard recently that if we don’t act on our impulse within the first five seconds, the impulse will disappear, and we will have missed an opportunity. Therefore act when the desire arises. Choose boldly right away. Notice what you keep thinking about and take […]
Creative Connections
“Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it.” ~ Unknown. However, this person clearly is yawning…why? She has heard the question, “How’s it going?” too many times today. We all do it, we ask and get asked the question multiple times a day. And what is the most common answer: “Good” or “Fine”. Blah! Part of living a playful life is to be spontaneous, creative, out of the box. As you go about your day, try something different when engaging friends, or even the woman working at the grocery check out. Perhaps ask: What’s been the highlight of your day so far? What has made you smile today/recently? Or even (and yes I do this regularly)… What is […]
15 Ways to Play with Taxes ~ Bringing Play into the Mundane
A question I often get asked is, “How can I make something I do not enjoy playful, like doing my taxes?” While I agree there are many things we would rather not be doing, there are an infinite number of ways to make even the most mundane a playful experience. Let’s start by remembering that on a primary level play is who you are. It is a state of being ~ I am Playful. On a secondary level play is something that you do ~ I play tennis, build a sandcastle or go for a bike ride. On the secondary level, play is dependent on time, space and money. It requires getting somewhere and often at some financial expense. Play on a primary level, however, […]
Benefits of Play
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” ~ Apple Computers In this rapidly changing world we live in, the wisdom of play has a lot to offer. Play invites a new kind […]
Dreaming with Your Inner Child
“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.” ~ J. R. R. Tolkien. When you begin clarifying goals, intentions and dreams, your inner child wants to actively participate in the creative process. Imagine that your inner child is taking you for a walk…yes, taking you, not you taking her. She is leading now, supporting your dreaming process. Picture her holding your hand as you walk side by side. She has much to say, much to guide you on, for her voice is the voice of possibility. Children dwell in an eternally abundant world. Their innocence is a gift of purity of mind, an openness of spirit, an attitude of Yes! Nothing is impossible in their reality until we tell them so, until we […]
14 Play Values
Play Value #1 ~ Permission To truly enjoy the playground of life, the first place to start is giving yourself permission to be playful. Permission is an affirmation that it is safe for our inner child to come out and play. For many of us this was not the case growing up, and so the path of remembering to play may not be easy at first. Compounded with many years of being a serious adult with responsibilities, it’s no wonder play has lost its place in our heart. But it’s still there, and with our permission we can allow our inner child to have a voice once again. Play Value #2 ~ Presence Play is a practice of being present. Have you ever noticed how […]