BlissQuest: 15 Playful Suggestions

Gnomes in the backyard remind me not to take the garden
too seriously; the chipmunk who lives in our
fireplace-planter is helpful too.

Listening to: How can you not have fun in blue glitter?

Today's Bliss Formula: The next couple of days, I am going to be taking pictures. I have lots of ideas and am excited to try some new things.

Last Friday, I wrote about fear and inhibition. How as we grow older, we say "no" more and more to play for fear of looking silly and out of inhibitions about what we are supposed to act like, what we are supposed to be spending our time doing.

We are missing out on way too much fun!

Just yesterday, I was talking to someone about this. She was lamenting that time seems to be passing too quickly.

I mentioned that taking time for ourselves -- time to be quiet, time to process, time to enjoy -- is important but that it is something we have to consciously do.

But she was stuck on the details of her "busy" life: her job, getting home to laundry, going shopping, painting this, scraping that. The details have become so overwhelming for her that she isn't seeing the larger picture. She is missing the forest for the trees, so to speak.

It is one thing to lament but quite another to stop there. Notice what it is that doesn't feel right, that seems to be sucking the joy from your life, yes, and then do something about it. Change.

Again with the priorities lecture!

But it's the ultimate truth regarding the quality of life experience we are going to have. What have you chosen to do with your time here? And is it what you really want to be doing or is what you think you are supposed to do?

Imagine yourself on your deathbed looking back over your life: what do you want to see? An organized kitchen or a lot of laughter? A freshly painted shed or time with friends? A well-stocked pantry or works of art on your walls that you painted yourself? A large savings account or stacks of poems?

Most of your time working at a job you only mildly liked or most of your time playing?

Who do you want to be? (For an interesting and delightful take on this question, visit here.)

Play is also important if you have gotten so mired in the details of a "supposed to" life that you have forgotten what it is that you are really meant to be doing here.

And yet, when we forget what we were sent here to do, we also tend to have forgotten how to play.

I did. When I met my partner, I was a very different person from the one I am today. I claimed to have no clue about what I really wanted. ("Claimed" because we always know; we are just to frightened to admit it.) So she set out to make me more playful. This is something we are still working on. (After a chaotic childhood, spontaneity can feel precarious and dangerous.)

If it hadn't been for my Frog, I would have stayed sad; I would have remained a tight bud, a moldering chrysalis.

I would never have allowed gnomes in my yard! They are so silly.

I would never have allowed her to paint clouds on our walls or pink birds or gold stars. I am an adult, for goodness sake, only children have murals -- or so I would have asserted back then.

For those of you feeling a bit stuck, a bit trepidatious about play, here are some ideas:

1. Why not paint your walls? First, start with some fun color -- out with the tan and the taupe and the beige and the mushroom -- all these are words for boring! Paint something fun. The room I am sitting in is painted a color called "Roman Orange" and the hall is a red called "Summer Pudding" -- what wonderful names. Get an interesting base down first and then start looking at the space of your walls like one giant canvas! Go to it. For inspiration, go to the library and look at some Frida Kahlo or some Marc Chagall or go here or here.

2. Don't stop with paint. Who says walls are just for paint -- glue up some sparkling gems, stencil some favorite quotes, paste up tiny pieces of mirror. Go wild! There's nothing that can't be undone. And, furthermore, who says paint is just for walls -- I dare you -- paint your floors that you hate.

Note: I am spending some time on play in relation to your space because a playful space only makes for a more playful and creative mindset.

3. When was the last time you danced? Put on some very loud music, close your curtains, and go! Sweat and laugh and tire yourself out.

4. Have some friends over and read a play out loud. I mentioned this last Friday. Do it for real. Don't watch other people having all the fun. Read a raucous comedy. Drink a little wine first if that would help.

5. Get some buckets and fill them with water and soup and have a bubble party. Buy sparklers and don't just use them on the 4th of July.

6. Have a theme party. I've always wanted to have a Great Gatsby party. Costumed and filled with martinis and jazz.

7. Do something you've never done before. Go skydiving. River rafting. Snorkeling.

8. Go to an art store and just purchase whatever floats your boat that day. Go home and play with it immediately so it does not just languish in your closet.

9. Go for a long and lazy bike ride and make sure there are giggle-inducing hills on your route. Stop thinking about exercise. That will come naturally if you are playing more.

10. Camp in your back yard.

11. Fill your house with candles and have a seance.

12. Have some friends over and sidewalk chalk your entire driveway. Provide cookies and lemonade for refreshments.

13. Dress in a way that you've always fantasized about dressing and just own it! I want one of these skirts and I'm going to get it. No more boring, plain denim.

14. Speaking of boring clothes. Go to a craft store and get patches and baubles and trim and turn your boring into wearable art. Why look like everyone else?

15. Have a tea party. A proper one. Outside with linen and lace covered table and platters of cakes and finger sandwiches. Have a high tea and tell everyone to wear a hat.

This is just a starter list. Pick something and try it and then pick something else.

Perhaps you could meet a like-minded friend for coffee and brainstorm a Playful List -- now that would be a To Do list worth doing!