Mindfully and Simply Inviting God into Your Play and Creativity
Welcome to episode #49! We are nearing the end of our Simple Summer Series.
Perhaps we feel we are too busy, have too many responsibilities, or that life is too serious to play and explore our creativity, but to deny play in our adult life can lead to depression, burnout, and the rushing woman syndrome.
Children smile approximately 400 times a day while adults smile an average of 20 times per day. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood we lose 380 smiles. Science Behind Smiling. We can get those smiles back through our play and creativity.
According to Dr. Stuart Brown, there are seven properties that describe play: it is apparently purposeless, voluntary, there is an inherent attraction to it, while doing it there is freedom from time, it diminishes the consciousness of self, it has improvisational potential (open, not rigid), and has a continuation desire which makes you want to do it more. Play isn’t just about imagination; it is about rest and rejuvenation. It shapes our brain, fosters joy, creativity and innovation, and is essential to our health.
Creativity quote from Christine Valtners Paintner: “Creativity is an essential and life-giving practice that requires spaciousness, attention, and intention in order to flourish. As well, it requires a degree of surrender of our control over the process. It also requires listening to the wisdom of our intuition, our bodies, and our feelings while acknowledging that nourishing our creativity is a lifelong journey and process. We also need a community that helps us to discern the creativity that is waiting to be born into our lives.”
Playful and creative activity ideas:
Play cards/game
Paint rocks
Throw rocks in the water
Doodling/coloring
Pick up an instrument and play a tune
Playing with kids or take them to a zoo or park
Shape things with clay or play dough
Grab watercolors or even fingerpaints and don’t worry about the finished product
Pack a picnic and take a frisbee to the park
Put on some music and have a little dance party
Think about the things you enjoyed doing as a child? Can you try one of them again?
Simple Steps:
Pick an activity to play or create this week
Contemplate afterwards what it felt like and the idea that God was playing with you and delighting in you.
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