Play is a word unfortunately synonymous with only children. Einstein states that:
“Play is the highest form of research.”
During my time as a child therapist over at Kidango, I would closely observe the pre-school children playing with their toys. You see, what I’ve learned is that play for children is not just play. It’s actually work. It’s how they learn to create, adapt and imagine situations in their minds which allows them to gather deeper concepts of thinking and analysis. And along with play, adventure is synonymous. With play comes adventure. As Carl Jung stated, each of us humans has archetypes within us all that are connected to the greater unconscious. Within all of us there is a hero, a magician, a king, a lover, and many more archetypes that we can figuratively imagine. Play and adventure allows us to experience a realm in this reality that feels like a dream within a dream. It is a liminal space that allows us to feel our highest self experiencing the power of synchronicity, depth and a universal feeling of awe. When we follow our passions in life, we are able to tap into more of this space which in turn makes us feel alive and super present. Which is why I do many of my client sessions in nature as it creates within us a feeling of awe and wonder which an office can never replicate. Us humans are hardwired for adventure and play. If we don’t play then we become depressed.
Children usually are at their peak imagination before high school. The high school system in America is unfortunately is designed to suppress the imagination of children and provide them a cookie cutter approach to education which tends to be bland, boring and just regurgitation of unapplied theoretical information. A funny story to share, I remember when I first went inside a kindergarten classroom on my first day at Kidango and what I saw was indeed peculiar. On one end of the room I saw 2 girls sitting together at the table and talking with their dolls, having a make-believe conversation which went along the lines of “hey Jessica, here’s your cup of tea, I hope you like it :)”. Then I turned my head to look to the other side of the room and I saw two boys from across the room run towards each other and they just collided in a neanderthalic fashion by screaming “ahhhhhhhh”. This display of behavior between the boys and girls was in stark contrast. To me it meant that girls generally tend to develop their soft skills at a very early age whereas boys are generally more kinesthetic in their learning through touch and body movement. Simply put, the divine feminine is more fluent in communication and connection whereas the divine masculine is more action-oriented competitive.
For children in particular, play allows them to use their imagination, play different roles and step into a make believe world which inspires them with creativity and joy. You see, the reason why over 53% of Americans are unhappy at work is because Corporate America is usually a place where people trade in their time and energy in exchange for financial stability aka a “steady paycheck”. For many people, this tradeoff is something that over time starts eating at their soul and they begin to become depressed. One word of advice to you; “don’t settle”. If you have a dream and I know most people do, then “go after it!”. We only have one life and we must follow our heart’s calling like it’s the only thing that truly matters. It’s because those 53% of working Americans are not playing anymore with their imagination and have taken mundane jobs to anchor their daily lives. Think it this way, if you force a child to listen to a boring lecture what is he/ she going to do? Most likely suffer and start crying in pain and agony. Well imagine a corporate worker who hates their job and they have to do it daily 8 hours a day, plus traffic and having to report to their tool of a boss and toxic coworkers. Yes, that person would indeed fall into the 53%. It’s unfortunate that the school system doesn’t teach about entrepreneurship because living in a country that rewards capitalism, to be an employee rather than a business owner is an unappealing tradeoff. Granted, not everyone is built to be an entrepreneur, but for those who are, it’s about being creative, providing solutions to people and making the world a better place. Us humans are designed to create, to be creative and always think in big picture about how we can help the planet become a better place to live in for all of us through environmental sustainability, abundant agriculture, cultural acceptance of all and global compassion.
Now when it comes to taking action, let’s look at this theory:
Forrest Gump Theory:
This theory basically states that people who are action-oriented will prosper in life as opposed to people who only contemplate and take little to no action. Even if a person is not a genius (aka Forrest Gump) their actions will create a ripple effect in the universe which will allow more doors and opportunities to open for them, thus providing them success in the long term. Action trumps extreme contemplation. There are a lot of dumb millionaires out there who have excelled in
their business and life because they simply got an idea and did it, rather than many geniuses out there who kept questioning themselves and going into an “analysis-paralysis” type of stagnant pattern.
Our millennials and young kids like you are an untapped resource in our planet and global consciousness. The Baby Boomers are getting old and the way they’ve handled things is nothing short of catastrophic through the merciless politics of our corrupt congressional government, uncapped wars of torture and demolition of innocent civilians and pure degradation of the resources of our planet. Now it is upto us take charge and change the way things that have been done. It is time to change the status quo from “me” to “we”.
We are One.
