Playing 🤸

In 2020, amidst “unprecedented times”, I discovered the value of Playing.

Play is typically the first piece of youth we lose when transitioning into adulthood, when suddenly we have to concern ourselves with bills and responsibilities and making sure we have clean underwear for tomorrow.

Play is often cast aside because, well, who has the time and energy to paint flowers, disappear into a video game, or put googly eyes on the dog’s ears when you simply must attend to the ever so pressing business of ironing your socks, cleaning the bathroom, or cooking dinner?

Play being cast aside is folly. Nor is play just for children.

For adults, in addition to the delights of entertainment, play keeps our brains flexible and open to learning, wards off depression, and sustains optimism.

And play can come in any form you please—there’s no right or wrong.

For me, to figure out how I wanted to play, I thought back to my childhood, searching for and excavating the things I enjoyed most as young wee lad.

Which meant I started reading science-fiction and fantasy novels again, playing chess, and watching Formula 1. I also gave learning how to draw a go.

Bringing those activities into my life was an immediate breath of fresh air, which encouraged me to keep digging in the rubble of my youth for more playtime ideas. In the years that have followed, I’ve reinstalled building Lego and playing video games in my life, as well as discovered play in gardening.

Drawing didn’t stick, but I do have writing for some good ‘ol creative expression. Often, the gym is play too—a pseudo-replacement for hockey. And when yoga dips into my life, I often find that practice playful too.

The good news about play is that you don’t need to overhaul your entire life or spend all day playing to enjoy yourself or reap the benefits. If you can only manage 5-10 minutes in a day, that’ll do—and is well worth prioritizing!

If you haven’t the foggiest clue of what play might look like for you because half a million years have passed since you last played, the best advice I can give is to reflect on what you enjoyed as a kid—then do that.

And if you’re really stuck, to give you a broader range of ideas, for people around me play has meant:

• Making and/or playing music

• Cooking or baking

• Doing jigsaw puzzles

• Photography

• Hiking, biking, and exploring the outdoors.

In short, you’re looking for anything where your sole purpose is to do the thing because you want to—rather than seeking a defined outcome.

Have fun!

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander Mullan