Be, Play, Love

I person been a campaigner for playfulness for astir of my big life. That’s wherefore I emotion moving with children. They explicit themselves done play. Until the clip immoderate adults successful their lives marque them judge otherwise. In our organisation, Children First, we person made playfulness, oregon what we telephone PQ (playfulness quotient), arsenic a halfway taste value.

Think astir a clip successful your life, successful your childhood or successful the caller past erstwhile you were doing thing that made you consciousness alive. Maybe you were doing thing that you loved, thing that energised you and excited you. Now spell up and deliberation of 3 much memories similar this. What is communal successful each of them? Chances are precocious that it
was playfulness.

You mightiness accidental to me, “I person a demanding occupation and excessively galore responsibilities astatine home. There is nary clip for maine to play.” I get it, you already are overwhelmed with beingness and adding play to it mightiness look absurd. We person been brought up connected a dependable dose of, “Life is nary amusive and games, get serious.” But what if we could enactment play astatine the centre of life? Stand connected the metaphorical table arsenic John Keating (played by Robin Williams) urged america successful Dead Poets Society to punctual ourselves, “That we indispensable perpetually look astatine things successful a antithetic way.”

“I can’t halt hurting myself,” 15-year-old Siya shared with maine and I winced arsenic she pulled up her sleeve to amusement maine her profoundly gashed-out arm. “If the coiled connected your limb could talk what would it say,” I asked her gently. Surprised, she looked astatine her coiled and replied, “I americium bushed of being invisible successful my school, of feeling that I americium little than everyone owed to the colour of my skin.” Siya did not acceptable into the stringent standards of quality propagated successful our nine owed to her acheronian skin. After years of contempt and ridicule, she had been pushed to a mendacious shame-ridden conclusion, “I americium ugly.” Rather than fto grimness instrumentality implicit the conversation, I decided to invitation play and basal connected the metaphorical desk. I turned to her mother, Priti, and asked her if she had immoderate videos of Siya erstwhile she was little. Priti took retired her telephone and we saw a video of small Siya singing and dancing with implicit abandon. The aerial successful the country shifted arsenic each 3 of america smiled astatine the small one’s radiant face. I asked Siya and Priti, “If you could spell backmost successful time, what would you archer small Siya? What would you accidental she needs to ticker retired for and what she needs to clasp connected to?” Amidst tears, hugs and laughter, we had a speech connected the past of our society’s obsession with tegument colour, each the astonishing women she knew who defied these stereotypes and however she could playfully basal up to radical erstwhile they made snide remarks astir her acheronian skin.

The adjacent clip I met them, Siya told maine that she, on with her champion friend, had gone up to the people teacher and shared their interest astir the colour consciousness. The teacher past decided to person a people connected diversity, which interestingly sparked a speech connected class, neurodivergence, looks, religion and sexuality.

Siya has not chopped herself since the archetypal clip we met. I was fascinated to perceive that her mother, who is an artist, painted a small carnal connected her limb each greeting — a butterfly, a cat, a sparrow. “They punctual maine that I person to support small Siya,” said the teary-eyed large Siya. She had besides enactment small Siya’s photograph arsenic wallpaper connected her telephone arsenic different reminder that “whenever I look astatine my photo, I instrumentality a heavy breath, enactment a manus connected my bosom and archer myself: you are loved.” Priti and Siya playfully called this attack — Be, Play, Love.

Children larn done play. It is outrageous and appalling the mode we are cutting down connected playtime successful our children’s lives. Long schoolhouse hours, tuitions, homework and excessive surface clip (not play astatine all) mean astir children are not getting overmuch clip oregon accidental to play and physique their brains.

Intellect has limits, play does not. It lights up our brains, it makes hard times easier and casual times much fun. Life’s struggles tin clench our hearts and declaration america and erstwhile we play, it expands us, it energises us. It makes america conscionable beingness with curiosity. It opens our hearts and ignites connections. It pulls america retired of our fishbowl minds, liberates america and makes america travel alive. It is astir not letting the heaviness of beingness get to us. It is astir smiling astatine the cosmic insignificance of our ain beingness and yet having amusive portion we can.

No substance what our age, play comes successful each shapes and sizes — to laugh, hum, sing, dance, hop, skip, jump, draw, paint, hug your child, your canine oregon a tree. If successful doubt, enactment connected immoderate euphony and marque unusual movements with your body. Weave playfulness into your time and instrumentality play breaks. Do thing that lifts your spirit. Make definite you marque it silly, unusual and not halt yourself being weird.

Play is simply a position, play is resistance, play is creative, play is healing and play builds connections. I americium committed to cranking up my PQ successful 2025. I invitation you to bash the same. Be, Play, Love!