Photo credit: Frankie Casillo
Hello friends,
It’s a quick guest break this week with some thoughts from me.
Last week I went to my first summer festival of the year. It had been a minute between music and dancing with hundreds of people and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the joy it gave me.
Whenever I dance I feel so connected with humans and myself and it made me think about connection and play. In 2015 I listened to Press Play on the Ted Radio Hour podcast that has always stuck with me.
The founder of the National Institute for Play, Stuart Brown, speaks about play, empathy, and connectedness. Play increases creativity and resilience. Play allows us to take in novelty and newness, use it to adapt and become more flexible, and have a good time in the process.
I read a piece by Ness Labs on Building your own PaaP: playfulness as a practice. She writes about playfulness as an inherent part of human nature that is crucial for personal growth.
My drive comes from connection and community. Play has been found to build empathy which is often blocked by stress. As we navigate life, meet new people and build relationships, it’s been found that engaging in activities with people helps block stress which leads to increased empathy and connection.
So what could play look like for you?
Team sports
Dance classes
Festivals
Board games
Ecstatic dance events
Kundalini yoga
That’s all for today.
Grateful to have you here.
Have fun :)
Obsessed with this pic