Start with Play to Reclaim Your Imagination

Four people stand around a table making popsicle dolls.

If we want to change our lives, we need to be able to imagine what that might look like.

Tapping into our imaginations is difficult for some people, and no wonder. Imagination needs stillness, space, and presence. Imagining is an act that goes against the grain in western society with all its trappings of success and accumulation of more, more, more. Throw in our inability to put our phones down, and voila, imagination is pushed aside in favor of instant stimulation. But imagination is an integral part of the human experience. When we ignore our beautiful, creative minds, we are closing ourselves off to what might be. When we are so locked into our schedules and next steps, we forget the dreams we once had. Our lives become narrow, and sometimes, stuck.

When was the last time you let yourself sit and wonder? Dream? Let your thoughts meander? Take delight in something beautiful or moving? It's hard, I know, with busy schedules and bills and families and friends and working towards your next goal. But reclaiming that imaginative time is key if you want to intentionally build a fulfilling, meaningful life. Imagination is where ideas begin. Imagination is the place where surprising, colorful possibilities emerge, leading us to a life we want to live.

If you are having trouble stopping your mind long enough to connect with your imagination, start with play. Play is just as important (if not more) to adults as it is to children. Children do it naturally - it's how they learn about the world, themselves, and their relationships to others. For adults, play can seem foreign or frivolous. It might feel awkward to let yourself slide into a playful mentality. But play helps us relax some of that tightness we hold. Play brings joy and spontaneous thinking and ultimately, opens a pathway to imagination.

There are many different ways to incorporate play into your life, and the key is consistency, not how much time each day you let your guard down. Even five minutes each day will help. Here are a few ways to build some play into your days.

1. Get down on the floor with your kids. Okay, this may seem obvious, but how often do you really do it? How often do you become the dragon or tiger or queen to your child's knight? The best way to do this is to follow your child. Take direction. Let them lead the way into story, and relax into the delight that it brings.

2. Play with a recipe. This is for the cooks and wannabe cooks out there. Instead of making the same old thing, tweak a tried and true recipe. Add a new spice. Change the protein. Make a sauce. Improvise something. It might be your new favorite meal, or it might be something you never want to taste again. Either way, you are exercising your play muscle.

3. Host a game night. I am a huge fan of games. Huge. However, there are games and then there are games. To make a game night playful, do your best to avoid anything that is too competitive or cutthroat. If your friend tends to flip the board in anger when losing Monopoly, you probably want to stay away from that one. Instead, think about what will bring about laughter? Creative thinking? Collaboration?

4. Have a play date with yourself. Plan an afternoon of pure frivolity. Do something you never do and do it all for yourself. Take that hike. Go to that museum. See a play. Sit at a cafe and watch the people go by while imagining where they are going and why. Do something that has no consequential outcomes - the idea is to relax and let yourself be present in the moment doing something fun.

5. Try some creative expression. Grab a piece of paper and make a mark. Then make another one. Then another. Find a way to join those marks together - or not. Let go of what it looks like and just follow the marks. Tune into your intuition. Scribble. The act of creating is healing and opens a wide door to imagination.

Play is a key part of the expressive arts. In a session, we might experiment with some art tools, seeing what we can do with watercolors if we add more or less water, or sprinkle salt on our paper, or let the paint drip off the sides. Or play with textures, feeling different fabrics and yarns and finding what pleases you. We might close our eyes and let our hands explore some clay, noticing its temperature, smell, weight, and texture, squishing it flat or molding it into something that just feels right.

For some it can take a while to allow play to emerge. For others it feels like a second skin. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, keep going. Try something new. Build five minutes of play into your day and let your imagination run wild.

Woman laughing sitting outside next to a woman drawing. Art materials surround the women.