Playing and creativity

As we move out of childhood into the tweens, most of us stop really playing. Play is a great way to stretch our imaginations. Role playing in the various games we play as children is actually practice for the way we will behave as adults. As we play with other children, we learn what is and is not acceptable behavior. Play prepares us to become adults. Only a very few adults continue to play in the gaming communities or in the role play communities. Most of the rest of us put away our imaginations when we become adult.

Playing is a great way to relax and rejuvenate. When I was a child, my parents continued to play in a way that taught me it is ok not to be adult and serious all the time. I remember a friend watching my parents and their friends telling me he had never known that adults could still have fun. His parents never did.

For my dad, cars were like big toys. He loved working on and restoring old cars. He loved playing with dune buggies and baja bugs. Because of the latter, we went to the sand dunes almost every other weekend during the school year to camp and drive the buggies. My mother graciously participated in this, and to this day, I don't know how she really felt about the camping. She never complained about sand in her hair or the food. I know we kids really had a lot of fun.

My adult life has not involved camping. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't something I sought out. However, I have had a lot of performing. I love playing a role, and the nine years that I participated in Valley Light Opera in the 80s and 90s was wonderful. The different characters were always so much fun to play and the performances were fantastic. I have also participated in large choral groups which was also great. I find performing is a wonderful way to get outside myself and blend into something greater.

At this point in my life, playing is usually with grandkids, great-grandkids, or the kids I watch in the nursery at church. We build things, crash cars, blow bubbles, color and paint, play with play doh, and generally use our imaginations. I am grateful to have that time to run around and exercise that part of my brain that isn't used much in my adult life. The pro is a great example of someone gifted in that space as he has a great time playing with them as well. 

I miss the creativity that was play when I was young. I want to enrich my life with creativity, so I plan to write stories to help with that. I have started writing some Jane Austen fan fiction which I found very satisfying. For some years, I exercised creativity in creating my own patterns for sweaters I knitted. I exercise creativity in my cooking, using recipes as a general guideline. The pro is quite sweet about eating the results although I try to not subject him to too much weirdness too often. I have been able to somewhat creative in creating marketing material in different jobs, but I am looking for more now. I think our souls grow when we create and shrink when we do not have an opportunity to do so.