Playful Living by Jenny Ward

I was sitting on the beach one day when I saw a girl and her mom digging in the sand in front of me. They were giggling as they dug their purple shovels into the sand. The girl seemed to be about five years old, and was full of life and joy. There was no right way to dig and she didn't care how messy she got. Moments later, the girl skipped towards me and said innocently, "You are pretty." I began to cry because I felt loved and appreciated. She made me remember the simplicity of this playground called life.

When do we lose the innocence and spontaneity of childhood? At what age do we feel that we need to stop telling others they are pretty, smart, awesome, loved ... you name it? Why do we mute ourselves into becoming adults? When we choose to play in this game of life, we choose to be in the moment, every moment. Dig deeper into the sand and understand that the castles we build are created by the beliefs we hold.

Watching children play is watching masters at work. They get it. For years, I lived with my belief that life was meant to be hard. I got the degrees, won the awards, got married, had the perfect home - and still something was missing. Becoming an adult carries many requirements: responsibility, success, marriage, stability and security. I checked each box off every day, yet found myself feeling heavy and lost. Years of dieting to be perfect, working to be successful and auditioning to be famous led me to a great place ... nowhere. At the age of 28, I stopped, looked at the sandcastles I had built, and asked, "Who said life has to be like this?" From that moment on, everything changed.

Most people are on autopilot most of the time. In order to choose your own path, you must believe in the possibility of magic, passion, play and love. Play is all about believing that life is meant to be enjoyed, not survived; embraced, not memorized; loved, not loathed. Being a visionary takes believing in the infinite possibilities of the answer to "What if ... ?" Watch a kid make a sand castle or paint a picture and notice the willingness to create without rules, design without limitations and build without expectations. Choosing to add playtime into your life is key to creating a life of your own, a life designed for and by you, and magnificently lived.

Deep down inside, we all crave to color outside the lines, to "mess up" without labeling ourselves failures. Perfectionism bruises the soul. Play allows your heart and soul to come out and dance.

I encourage you to erase the words should, correct, responsible and perfect from your mind. "You should be this, you should do this, you better do that," are repeated again and again, placing tons of expectations on us. We continue to search for the answers, buy the self-help books, take the classes, get the better jobs, climb the corporate ladders ... in order to attain what? Being "successful" according to someone else's guidelines? Why isn't it successful to take time out every day to honor yourself with PLAY?

Most adults seem to wait until they are 65 to play. I don't want to wait. Life is what we want it to be. Create your sandcastle with the intention to be playful, and pass on your new freedom! I triple dog dare you!

Got PLAY?

1. Roll around in the grass, and don't brush the grass off.
2. Drive/walk a different way to work or wherever you usually go.
3. Wear glitter underneath your work clothes.
4. Wear a bright orange tie.
5. Smell a flower deeply, thankful for its beauty.
6. Smile at stranger.
7. Go thru the toy aisle in any store and imagine which one you'd love to play with ... then buy it.
8. Do cartwheels.
9. Call a friend and invite him or her over for play time.
10. Stop. Breathe. Giggle. Look around you.
11. Remember: it's never too late to be what you always wanted to be.
12. Take yourself out for a play date.
13. Laugh at yourself as much as possible.
14. Put silly, fun stickers on your bills.
15. Erase good, bad and should from your dictionary.
16. Hug your family, friends and yourself with playful abandon.
17. Paint rocks and line your driveway with them.
18. Drink with straws.
19. Think of someone who needs to play more and take him or her out to play.
20. Hang poster board in your kitchen: in crayon, write one thing you love about life on it every day. Invite your roommate/family/partner to write on it also.

Be you. Be Love. Choose Play.

Jenny Ward, is a PLAY Activist and owner of PLAYWARD, which celebrates the play-nificence of BEING ALIVE thru workshops, Playoga, Books, Retreats and Seminars. Jenny received her Masters from New York University, is a certified Dream Coach, and Yoga Practitioner. She has performed in numerous Off- Broadway shows, television shows and films in New York City. She can be reached at 760-521-8842 cell, jenny@playward.com, www.playward.com

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