Give Yourself Permission to Play

We live in a culture that discourages playfulness. One of the things that supports creativity is playfulness. When we give ourselves permission to play, we are accessing the default mode network, a neurological term used to identify a resource we have, that resides in our right brain. Our society values logic and linear thinking. When we are engaged in creative activities such as the arts, the process is of a nonlinear nature. When ideas come to us they arrive unannounced, and when we are involved in non- linear tasks. Have you ever wondered why you have great ideas while taking a shower or doing the dishes or sweeping the floor? These mundane boring tasks we engage in on a daily basis are fertile ground for our creativity.

When we engage in the arts and allow ourselves to make mistakes, be playful, silly, and even foolish, we relax the grip of perfectionism that destroys playfulness. Perfectionism destroys our quest for making discoveries. When you make a discovery it’s like finding a precious jewel. When you find this precious jewel, it will lead you into your own world filled with bliss, Joy and self-confidence.

Because so much of our time is spent comparing ourselves to others, fueled by social media, we are unable to move past the continual activity of comparison. When we constantly compare ourselves to others we are going nowhere. We each have unique gifts to offer. This is what it means to be human, and to just be who we are without reservations and judgment, and simply allow our natural creative juices to flow. This flow is endangered by all the distractions that occur on a daily basis. A simple antidote to the distractions, while accessing our creative playfulness, is the activity of sitting silently embracing the present moment. Taking just a few moments to calm down the mind, gives us a chance to activate the default mode network. When we do this simple thing, we ignite our imagination, our hopes and dreams, and all that makes us truly unique.