Rediscovering the joys of play can help switch mindset
My husband and I recently had the time of our lives hiking the Simcoe County Forest Louden Tract adjacent to Airport Road. What made our hike so memorable was the discovery of multiple frozen puddles. This may not seem like a memory making moment to most, so let me explain.
When I was a young girl I grew up in a house that had a long dirt driveway down to the concession road where we caught the bus every morning. On frosty days it brought me great pleasure to be the first down the driveway to stomp, crack and crumble the frozen tops of pothole puddles. The crystalline patterns in the ice, the tinkling and cracking auditory explosion, and the discovery of what lay below made my early morning walk fun and often times filled my boots with frigid water. Nonetheless, I coveted those puddles and the simple joy they brought me.
As a fifty-something woman I had forgotten the joy of frozen puddles until we came upon them in the forest. We had such fun tromping and cracking puddles that we felt like little kids again. To embrace a lightness of heart from such a simple act in tandem with nature reminded me of an important wellness principle, play!
As a recovering perfectionist I have lived most of my life being serious, focused, and goal oriented. I was good at achieving and achieving more. What I ended up with was a lot of things, and a mind riddled with anxiety and stress. Play seemed immature, superfluous and quite frankly wrong for an adult to engage in. As a stay-at-home mom I found it hard to play with our two daughters, and regrettably I spent most of my time folding laundry, sweeping floors, cleaning, and preparing food. Through a series of synchronicities I ended up in workshop at the Omega Institute with my husband called the “Joy of Play”. Lead by a white haired man with a handle bar moustache and a twinkle in his eye, I reluctantly learned how to fold the “perfect” paper airplane, toss people up in the air via a taut US Army regulated parachute, walk a slack line, and soap my behind to slide down a massive slip ’n slide. At first I felt weird allowing myself to play and have fun, but with the peer pressure of thirty other adults I ended up hooting, hollering, squealing and laughing until my sides hurt. Turns out that play is great for your mental health because it helps you stay in the present moment – you’re too busy having fun to worry about the past or the future; and the goal of play is to have fun so you’re not conscious of making a mistake (very important recovery strategy for perfectionists).
You don’t need a workshop to engage in play. In fact any activity constitutes as play as long as you adopt a playful mindset and have fun while you’re doing it. It could be your favourite sport, cooking a new recipe, playing a board game with your family, dancing in the kitchen with a broom as your partner, or stomping on frozen puddles in the forest. Put a smile on your face. Ignore any preconceived rules about what adults should or shouldn’t do, and go and play. Your heart will thank you.
I have posted a video of our puddle stomping adventure on my website. I would love to hear about your experiences of play. Please send me an email (via website below).
Nicole Hambleton is a wellness coach, meditation, and energy medicine practitioner living in Mulmur. You can learn more about her services at purpletentwellness.com.
