Playtime

Molly writes...

I was driven into thought by my Mom’s recent blog post about childhood play. I ponder the value of play quite often. I have small children and I am enamored and warmed by their practice of constant play. I recently attended a lecture by the author Peter Gray and was very much inspired by his work illuminating the power of play for children. And while I continue to agree passionately with the importance of “play” during childhood, my thoughts today are concerned with us grown up folks.   
 
I looked up the definition of play in the dictionary and found it defined as: to engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.
 
What happens when we grow up? Why do we lose sight of the doing of things just for the sake of contentment? We are driven by society to have a reason, a purpose, or a validation for everything we do. There is this overwhelming assumption that everything we do should be for advancement or to get a certificate or have a practical application. We have lost sight of having things in our lives that we do just because …
 
I believe this is where I found my connection to the Zentangle Method. That place of “connection” for each of us that practices the Zentangle Method is different. I have heard so many stories and they all inspire me. For me, my connection was about rediscovering something I had lost.
 
I have been an artist as far as my memory serves. It came easy to me. It has always been my happy place. I love art. I love crafts. I love to make stuff. I went to art school. That was a dream come true. And while art school was amazing there was a shift that happened while I was there. All of my creations became assignments. They were all graded and put through a series of critiques.  There was always a question of why I did this or how would I market it or what is its function or what is the meaning behind this? It was challenging and exhausting. I thrived and stood to the challenge.

Over time, I lost sight of making things just for the fun of it. Just for the pure enjoyment of creating. I was programed to judge and examine everything. After school I continued with art as a profession and it was wonderful but there was something missing … something I had not realized I lost. A few years later Zentangle appeared in my life. I did not get it at first. As someone who had spent endless hours of my life drawing, I struggled with it at first. It wasn’t until I was able to completely let go of all the questioning and judgment that I was able to sink into my practice. I realized that it didn’t matter how long it took, what the end result was going to be, if anyone else liked it, what the deeper meaning of the composition was, or if I could sell it. I started to see that it was “drawing for drawing’s sake” and that it was for the pure enjoyment of it. It was playtime. It was “me” time. And it was then that I found that thing that I had lost. I had rediscovered that love for creating things just for the pure enjoyment of it.

 
I love the phrase, “labor of love”. It really does take work and effort to do these acts. It takes courage to make these things a priority in our busy lives. Once we set that time aside and put value on the importance of them, these acts that we are so connected and attracted to are done so with love. That love seems to change the work part into something that we enjoy. A practice that truly nurtures our well-being.
 
It’s kind of funny because later on Zentangle became my job. How was I to preserve my “playtime” and keep it separate from my work? So far I have managed pretty well. My Zentangle practice is still sacred and remains to be one of my most accessible playtime activities.
 
I put value on the time that my children need for unstructured play, daydreaming and whatever else their hearts are seeking. And I know now that I too need specified time to play. It calms and nourishes my being.
 
Whether it is gardening, baking, crosswords, fishing, swimming, hiking, needlepoint or Zentangle, I encourage you to take joy in your playtime. Wallow in these things for the sake of the doing and the pure enjoyment. Let go of needing to define, measure or answer to any of the specifics and get comfortable in the “just because”. Remind yourself the next time you say, “I don’t have the time” … that you, too, need playtime.

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