When we have an epiphany, what I imagine it looks like in our minds is moths flocking to a flame, all these neural pathways get connected and re-connected in a flurry of synaptic activity. It happens so fast and yet it would take most of us several minutes to explain what new perspective we received in milliseconds. 

That is what happened to me last night when considering what to share with all of you on this Friday in September. 

Whenever I allow my mind to linger on the cost, the toll that this pandemic has taken it conjures a heaviness, a depression you might say. I feel a kinesthetic weight on my body that I know is entirely emotionally driven. My guess is you feel it, too.

This is where my mini-epiphany comes in, what I recalled was Stuart Brown’s work, which Brene Brown often cites, that the opposite of depression is play. This remembering buoyed me instantly. If we are feeling down, do your best to reach for its opposite. Reach for the light.

There has likely never been a more important time in our collective history for us to reclaim our ability to engage in playful activities, whether it be painting, making scrapbooks, sewing, knitting, whatever you enjoy doing simply for the sake of doing it.

How often do you schedule time in your day for play? When was the last time you did something just because you enjoy it, regardless of whether you are considered proficient or even good at it? What do you partake in just because it’s fun?

During a work call earlier this week, I heard a woman talk about taking up painting again during the pandemic because it was one of the few times her mind stops chattering at her and gives her peace. She said she paints for herself and for the calm it brings her. How well she paints is irrelevant. This act of play, if you will, is providing her a boost to her well-being that likely would be difficult to tangibly measure, and yet I could hear it in her voice. If this were a video call, I feel confident I would have been able to see it. 

Did you hula hoop as a kid? Did you like to blow bubbles? Did you have a pastel set and sketch paper? Maybe you could make a trip to the art store this weekend, or to the Dollar store. Go looking for fun. I bet you’ll find it.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,
Lowi & G