Play…

Daily writing prompt

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

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Since I joined this month-long daily writing challenge a few days after it began, I’m taking the liberty today to answer a prompt from an earlier day that I missed. Admittedly, three days in to my run with this daily challenge, I lost interest – or inspiration. The questions felt lame, and any potential response, forced. Sigh. I had wanted to feel excitement and enthusiasm to write for 31 consecutive days, or, in my case, 28. Maybe it’s not the questions. Maybe it’s me. Whatever the case, today is Day 10 of Bloganuary 2024 and this will be my 4th post.

Being a person fortunate to have reached retirement from the pressure or time demands of a job for pay, I now both revel in and commit to a relaxed, slow living, peaceful way of daily life. It is by no means a boring life – I am one who is capable of finding curiosity, delight, interest, knowledge, and reverence for the tiniest aspects of life around me. So, the mere idea of an expected writing post each day, in a way, goes against the grain of my intendment. Therefore, today, I declare that I shall remain a subscriber to ‘bloganuary’ but not a slave to it. There, I said it. All better now.

The question I had chosen to respond to today asks, “Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?” My answer is without hesitation, and happily, “Yes, I do play in my daily life!” I’ve always been the type of person who has held onto a young-at-heart attitude and consequently, my daily life – and my home, too – reflect that philosophy. For me, “play” or being playful, encompasses an unlimited variety of activities and in addition, includes a general mindset. Many things can be turned into a more playful mode with hardly any effort at all – and, why would a person not do that?

I am a hopeless creative. You thought I was going to say ‘romantic’, didn’t you? That query could foster multiple future posts, but not going there today. Creativity though, is a significant part of my being, and flavors all aspects of life/daily life for me. I have worked in many mediums of art in my life, and I literally keep a running list of all sorts of ideas, inspirations, future projects, and new mediums I wish to explore. I go down rabbit holes on the daily. It is not uncommon for me to realize (after my iPad or cell phone has become constipated), that I have 48 tabs open – and many of them I’m not even ready to close yet!

So, today’s pondering has to do with the possible fine line between enjoyment and play. Are pursuits you enjoy considered ‘play’? Is time spent creating, ‘playtime’? Does this even need to be answered or dissected? I’m just going to answer for myself at the moment, and say yes – I feel that when I’m creating it’s definitely enjoyable as well as playful. Granted, a lot of research, experimentation, practice, patience, many hours, and labor may be involved in a particular creative effort, but for me at least, ultimately it still occupies both categories.

Going a step further with the idea of creating… I don’t feel it has to be a ‘project’ per se’. For instance, the design of the essence of the sanctuary you call ‘home’ is a constant and evolving act of creativity. Or, at least offers up the possibility to be so. My own home’s essence is very fluid… things change in the glance of an eye and the feng shui feeling of ‘this is more pleasing to me today’ which in turn directs my choices and changes. Those of us who are fortunate enough to have a place we can call home, no matter how humble, continually hone it’s harmony whether we are conscious of doing this or not. It’s human nature’s way of “nesting”. The birds do it, the bees do it, burrowing animals do it, etc.

The spirit of my home, ‘my nest’, is feathered with handmade creations by myself and others, treasured gifts, objects d’art, sentimental possessions, found objects, etc. – often displayed with a sense of whimsy. They mingle with pleasing-to-me textures, colors, scents, lighting, and ambiance – all of which are a visual, sensual, tangible, and tactile display of my effusive creativity, personality, nesting spirit… my pneuma. For me, this impromptu and ever changing sense of harmony is a vital element in my existence as a contented, happy, creative, and playful being.

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.”

~ Carl Jung

”You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

~ Maya Angelou