Playfulness conjures up images of childlike innocence and play, freedom and joy! Edgewalkers value and understand the importance of Playfulness, the quality of being light-hearted or full of fun, as described in the book “Edgewalkers” by Dr. Judi Neal,
Now more than ever, especially with the external restrictions, we can choose to play at anytime. When we allow our creative, child-like Spirit and essence to come out and play we ignite Joy which is one of the highest emotional vibrations we can feel. Joy uplifts our sense of self, creates well-being and supports optimal health, relationships and community.
Playfulness, as defined in the book Edgewalkers by Judi Neal, is a joyful sense of fun and creativity, an ability to keep everything in perspective.
A shift in perspective is necessary during these uncertain times and the ability to see and feel things differently is essential to our evolution.
I love the quote by Aldous Huxley: “The Secret of Genius is to carry the Spirit of the child into old age.” One way we can access our genius, wisdom and creativity is through the Spirit of the child, the part of us who is open, naturally intuitive, less conditioned, more authentic. We can find answers to our problems and gain a different insight by allowing our child-like wonder through play to explore what is possible, connect with our intuition and creative problem solve.
One of my favorite quotes is by George Bernard Shaw : “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Most of us have become “adulterated” over the years. Many of us have forgotten how to play, we have no time, we are too busy, we don’t value it.
I attended a retreat in my 30’s when I realized I forgot how to play, to let go.
I was focused for years on my education, accomplishments, taking care of everyone, saving the world. A part of me was not happy or fulfilled. I felt restricted, disconnected from myself. There was an exercise encouraging us to play and have fun. Initially this process was very uncomfortable for me and unfamiliar. I was self-conscious. In time as I gave myself permission to play, I allowed myself to connect with my child, let go and play, dance, walk in wonder through nature, laugh and dream again. I discovered parts of myself I had long forgotten. I felt more whole, complete, connected.
Surprisingly from this state of joy and playfulness, many answers I was seeking about decisions in my life, how to approach the problems of the world and where I could best serve resulted from my willingness to play more. I needed to “go out of my serious adult mind” and create more space and awareness through play. The clarity, ease and peace I sought emerged from playfulness. It was as if parts of me were buried, waiting to come out and be experienced. I am so happy I had the courage to open the door!
I now understand the importance of Playfulness. It is the quality that supports letting go, liberation, a space where we can connect more deeply and expansively to parts of ourselves that want and need to be expressed.
Encouraging the children who naturally love and play inherently connect, are curious and open, accepting and allowing. We can learn from them, model their innocent child-like nature.In these times of uncertainty many would say we don’t have time to play, it’s not important, appropriate, relevant.
We can’t afford NOT to play!
For our Spirits and the world to flourish and evolve, we MUST play together as adults along with our own inner child. This is a necessary remedy for the balance we seek as souls and for the transformation of our planet!
Patricia Campanile
Edgewalker Senior Associate, Certified Edgewalker Coach & Facilitator
Dear Patricia,
When someone asks me, what do you do? I often reply, whatever I enjoy doing. I have done every job in healthcare from cleaning the toilets to diagnosing, operating and nursing and everything in between as well as being a member of special forces as a paramedic. I have travelled the world and met amazing people and carried responsibilities far beyond my apparent status when planning for post conflict regeneration. Yet at the end of all this I am just another simple soul who wants to help create a peaceful society and healthy planet. What I began to realise when I was in my early 30’s was that I didn’t conform to anything in particular, and people found this odd, but when you speak of ‘childlike’ it seemed to trigger something within me. As a child I was bullied remorselessly until I left home and joined the Royal Navy, I used my middle name and almost from that moment on everything changed, I was no longer bullied.
Reflecting on this I began to realise that I had reverted back to being around 4 years of age, fascinated by the change that simply changing my name had made. When we are that young we are still learning to socialise, play and make friends. We learn how to adopt different roles if we want others to play with us, and can sense how it feels to be something else, a goody or baddie, a victor and loser without feeling it defines us. It was as if I had been given another chance to learn how to become who I had the potential to become. The lasting sense I have is that if I define myself as x or y, then I have limited myself, so be what is required at that moment to the best of your ability, but don’t hold on to this, let it go and become something else.
The upshot of this train of thought is that the way we learn or teach should be consistent with this process. When I teach top directors or managers on the management of complexity or uncertainty I don’t ‘tell’ them anything, I invite then into a dialogue where they uncover what that means and how they react to this. If I tell them that doing x or y will lead to success I know I have failed because they will try it and it won’t work. Not because it is wrong, but simply because what they understand by it isn’t the same as me, so how they apply it will create problems. When they uncover how they do meet such challenges and what other options are available then they are more likely to succeed. Playing with it helps more than directing them. I want them to have fun when we work and learn together, to PLAY!!!! Just as young children do…….
Thank you so much Rex for your thoughtful, heartfelt and wonderful response to my blog. I am inspired to hear how you have integrated Playfulness into your life experience. I wish you joy as you continue on your journey. Here’s to living and being young at heart. Best wishes, Patricia