play

you can probably deduce from the name of my blog that "play" is my main passion. play, as a subject matter, was brought to my attention again recently when a friend of mine shared an article she wrote about it. you can read it here (it's SO worth the read): http://www.changestartsathome.com/social/live-to-play-play-to-live/
i think the child in me has always sought out being with children, so that i can continue to learn and experience play as a participant and observer. i'm so thankful for the little girl that i spend 8 hours a day with. i would call it my work, but it's really my play that i happen to get paid for. seeing the world through her eyes, and realizing that it's beckoning us to play with every dimension, is priceless. i should be paying her parents for the teaching and the joy that i receive every day.
just today we had a playdoh incident. i learned a valuable lesson. playing with the playdoh was an outlet for her to find fulfillment, concentration, joy and creativity. it also made space for her to be frustrated and angry when the shapes didn't conform to her liking. the light and the shadow sides all came forward. so, apparently play is not only fun, but useful and self-revealing. as adults, we can use it as a flashlight to notice things. and children, well children will play for the sake of play and nothing can stop them. it's their authentic nature.
observe a child playing and see what you notice or learn from it (but remember that adults must be accompanied by a child on the playground - i don't want to feel responsible when you get arrested). :o)
pick a play and do it! here are some ideas: play Twister, skip against the flow of pedestrian traffic, build a blanket fort, think of a part of you that you don't like and rock it to sleep, do a cartwheel in an inappropriate place, make genitalia out of clay (this will really make you laugh), have a lemonade stand in front of your house, paint your feet and make footprint art, write a limerick about something or nothing, walk backwards uphill, write notes to yourself and attach them to your shirt with clothespins, make up a dance routine to your favorite tune from Grease (i did this when i was 5). that should get you started...

naps

i'm a big fan of getting in a few zzzs in the afternoon time. i don't get to do it often, but have always loved to catch a few minutes to refresh and take care of that after-lunch slump. even when i worked in an office, i would drive to the park, lean my car seat way back, and doze off for half an hour. now i work with a toddler who has a mandatory nap time and occasionally we manage to syncronize our snoring.
for many years, i felt shame about my love of naps, because there's a lot of bunk in our culture that says nap equals lazy. we have to work, work, work, and many are even quite proud of their ability to function on a few hours of sleep a night. so sad. and so unhealthy. i've recently come to realize that naps are actually part of my unique human design (http://humandesignamerica.com/), contributing to my creativity and health. so now, rather than shame, i've started to feel longing for those places in the world where siestas are an integrated part of society. how great to get to close down shop for a couple of hours after lunch to go home and take a nap!
a few words from SARK on the value of nap-taking: "all at once, you sail away into a nap, where tangled nerves are untied, and where time stops. guilt and expectations are not welcome in napland. you can always find a reason not to take a nap. find more reasons to let naps take you!"

coffee shops

so, i was skipping down the street without a destination in mind, when what should come wafting into my nostrils but the most beautiful aroma of coffee. i could say i was assaulted by it, but that would suggest that i was somehow a victim. on the contrary, i was taken into another dimension by the thought of wandering into a newfound coffee shop. the coffee shop is something quite "other than" in its function. each one is multi-faceted and has something or nothing to offer, which makes it unique from every other one. i've been captivated by coffee shops all over the world, since the revolution swept through from the west coast in the '90s (although credit where credit is due, italy has been way ahead of the starbucks-revolution for centuries).
as my thoughts are flying about this topic, i realize that i could probably write a book as easily as a blog entry. there's much to say. but i will condense for the sake of the reader, who likely enjoys bite-sized bits of reading.
i won't presume to understand the draw of the coffee shop to humanity in general, but will elaborate on my personal feelings about it:
it's a place where one can be utterly alone in the midst of a crowd. this is something i've found that i need much of in my life. together-aloneness.
its offerings are usually of the warm, comfort-drink type and not-so-heavy-maybe even-healthy-food type. and i can often sit down with my tray of goodies for under $10 (even in SF).
there are many interesting people, conversations, decor, newspapers, employees and bathrooms to engage with.
but the very topmost reason for my love is that coffee shops often throw down a huge welcome mat for the creative, artistic soul to come in. there is space at the tables, on the walls, on the floor, in the air. space for thinking, for writing, for drawing, for knitting, for molding, for reading, for graphic designing, for healing, for music, for dancing. even if all of these things don't take place within its walls, there is a space for everything to be born in a coffee shop. i shouldn't say a coffee shop, but the coffee shop. you know the one(s) in the place where you live that opens its doors for you to open your heart. it gives you safety, comfort, affirmation. and a great cup o' joe. if you haven't found it yet, keep looking. it's definitely out there (and it's most likely not starbucks).

turtles

i was in an art group many months ago, where the leader asked us to close our eyes and allow an animal to come into our minds eye, then draw it. i thought, "oh great. now i have to think up which animal i want." but thankfully, the animal came to me before i could use my mental capacities to invent it. it was a turtle. i thought that was pretty random since i never think about turtles, nor have i ever particularly liked them. but i went ahead and drew it. then colored it. then wrote all of the words and phrases that came to me about it. in those moments, the turtle became my life-symbol and my new friend.

so, a few thoughts about turtles:
no matter where they go, they are always at home; they are slow and steady; they have built-in protection around them; they camouflage into their environment; they are very determined; they have survived for over 200 million years; they have a very long life-span (often over 100 years); they're quite beautiful.
around the world and in different cultures, the turtle symbolizes such things as: wisdom, longevity, patience, female energy, divinity, Mother Earth, creation, stability, self-containment, protection, creative source and being grounded. just to name a few.
not only did this turtle come into my mind that night, but has continued to surface time and again since then. of course. that's how things work when they want to get your attention. some call these signs or wonders. i call them fantastic!
one of my dear ones just found her horse. what animal wants to come into your realm?