Practice Playfulness

Thanksgiving. Anticipate, Experience, Remember Play

Research in behavioral science suggests that the actual in-person experience is only one of three legs of the overall experience. The second is anticipation — things that happen before the experience. The many days that you spend planning a trip … and the pleasure it brings you creates the anticipation……. The third is remembrance — the joy that you get in sharing … or simply reliving your own experience.
The Toronto Star by Dilip Soman and Grace Minwen Lou

In the U.S. we typically celebrate Thanksgiving with family, friends, turkey, dressing, and cranberries… so the story goes. This year is different with social distancing. One for the record books, we hope.

With time off, turn your mind toward the future – in anticipation. Think about, place hope in and dream of life post covid, post elections, post social distancing.

Remembrances of past experiences have proven to be playfully positive. Sit back and reflect on Thanksgivings packed with fun and play – or at least a belly full of leftovers!

Love that Dancing Turkey GIF!

As you reflect, remember gratitude is an important piece of the pie for well-being and a playful attitude. So, grab a bit of gratefulness as you sit down to celebrate Turkey day creating current experiences into a future of fond memories.

Thanksgiving is about being Thankful – Anticipate, Experience, Remember and PLAY.

Playfulness & Community

Our power as individuals is multiplied when we gather together as families, groups, and communities with common goals.
The I Ching

Play and the Practice of Playfulness are good for us as individuals and helpful in building Community.

Community as we fondly refer to it with a small ‘c’ is made up of smaller close knit groups with common interests, or as defined by Merriam-Webster , a unified body of individuals.

Small ‘c’ communities feelings of playfulness are experienced by groups of individuals unified in participation through play. Here, laughter, smiles, pushing and pulling, self deprecation, and teasing with good humor — alongside dancing, singing, and creating — are variations of playfulness.

In these smaller moments of community, opportunities organically emerge to begin the process of building bridges. And, facilitate improved interaction with each other and across different communities at large. This makes up what we fondly refer to as large “C” Community. The stronger playful bridges are built across larger Communities and enhance how we and others more comfortably fit into Society at large.

Courtesy Giphy.com

Social Mettle shares that “A sense of community is important to establish peace and harmony among the society.”

To get to that sense, that place – safe playful spaces are often a prerequisite. They create havens where those with opposing views ease into learning, trust, acceptance, and life enrichment. These spaces are needed simply because, well, we aren’t lemmings. We do think differently from one another yet social interaction is part and parcel of what makes us human.

How do you join in ‘community’ small “c” through playfulness and why does it matter? It can ease the way to share with one another, learn from one another and enrich each other’s lives in an environment based in trust, openness and fun. Perhaps we may again begin to “create a unified body of individuals” through the experiment of playfulness to arrive at big “C” Community in a way to bring more joy, fun, comfort, and ease to Society overall.

For The Love Of Bill

The more relaxed you are, the better you are at everything: the better you are with your loved ones, the better you are with your enemies, the better you are at your job, the better you are with yourself.
Bill Murray

Today we launch a semi-regular series honoring those who have mastered the art of practicing playfulness.

Honorees live, eat, and breath playfulness at a level few achieve.

What does it take to make the list? That depends on the person and their command of Creativity, Camaraderie, Community, Health, Well-Being, Spirit, Quality of Life, and Self-Expression.

The 1st ‘Master of Playfulness’ honoree embodies the essence of playfulness more than most. He fits the bill, not just any bill but for many the one and only “BILL.”

Credit: Giphy.com

David Alm sums it up nicely in his interview with filmmaker Tommy Avallone on the making of the documentary “The Bill Murray Stories’.

Everything for Murray, say those who know him well, is a form of improv: When a situation arises, he meets it head-on and responds, “Yes, and… Those who don’t know Murray well, but have met or drank or sang karaoke with him, say they came away from it feeling not like they’d met a movie star, but like they’d been lifted up by the experience. He lives entirely in the moment, they say, and it’s never about him.
Tommy Avallone

Credit: YouTube: The Bill Murray Stories Trailor

Of course there’s the Art…

Iconic Paintings Reimagined With Bill Murray’s Face

And the DAO of Bill…

Credit: Youtube – MadHatter Picnics

Bill Murray. His humor, mastery of playful leadership, relaxed sensibility. It just doesn’t matter! Relax, stay present, enjoy the ride.

Fear, Playfulness & Courage

Choosing playfulness and courage over fear.
Joost Vrouenraets

Of Fear and Playfulness by Bernard Louis De Koven

1 min read.

It is almost always impossible to be playful when you are afraid.
@PositiveForceMovement

Joost Vrouenreats watch 13 min

Wait for it… and watch the entire 13 minutes.

It’s worth it. Truly.

How Do You Play The Game Of Life?

In every loss there is a lesson. In every loss there is an upside and an opportunity to respond in a more constructive way.
Sam Weinman

We never starkly fail at life itself. When we mess up in worldly areas and feel dejected and isolated, the universe is just giving us an exceptional chance to begin the training which means we will one day become star athletes in other less well-known but hugely important races – races around keeping a sense of humour, showing gratitude, forgiving, appreciating, letting go – and making do.
The School Of Life

Winners and Losers in the Race of Life. (Read: 3 Minutes)

The Art Of Manliness Podcast #646: How to Win at Losing (Listen: 49:54)

Practice…… It can bring Magic to Play.

Real magic emerges when practice is internalized, becomes habit and intersects with play in a state of flow and joy.
Practice Playfulness

Watch your thoughts, for they will become actions. Watch your actions, for they’ll become… habits. Watch your habits for they will forge your character. Watch your character, for it will make your destiny.
Margaret Thatcher

On the Journey to New Habits, Take Tiny Steps by BJ Fogg, PhD; WSJ read 3 min.

If you pick the right small behavior and sequence it right, then you won’t have to motivate yourself to have it grow. It will just happen naturally, like a good seed planted in a good spot.
BJ Fogg

Credit: YouTube Katelyn Ohashi

Floor is where I get to express myself. It’s, like my party time, like my play time.
Katelyn Ohashi

Play. The Great State vs Trait Debate!

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
Dr. Seuss

Today marks our sixth month learning the ins and outs of Word Press…poking and prodding the importance of playfulness for adults.

We are tickled pink when we strike a chord with a reader. To learn a posted story is useful takes us beyond personal amusement and blogging play.

Questions of course remain. From the beginning we have wondered what exactly is playfulness? Is it a learned skill, a longer term trait, or just a fun temporary state?

Is playfulness built into the human psyche? A way of being? And is play just an activity entered and left at will on a whim? Ultimately if play is a way of being can it be learned, turned into a habit, maintained over time, even enhanced, and if so to what end?

Credit: Giphy.com

To our delight Professor René Proyer recently popped onto our radar.

Photo Credit: Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU)

Professor Proyer suggests adults can train themselves to become at least temporarily more playful. Could his work lead to more stimulating debate on what Playfulness really is? That Practicing Playfulness as a habit could be a means for long-term improved well-being? A tool for changing perspectives? We certainly hope so.

We were happy to see a recent flurry of similar articles from different media outlets so we’re only sharing one below. We’re confident you can google the rest if as excited (as we are) about the habit of playfulness.

Now more than ever a global mind shift to a more playful perspective could improve upon our state of equilibrium, collective well being, and a more relaxed world view.

To learn a little more about Professor Proyer’s research click below.

Boosting Ability to Be Playful May Enhance Satisfaction With Life (Read: 2 Minutes)

Young Adults and Playfulness

Play brings joy. And it’s vital for problem solving, creativity and relationships.
Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S

The Importance of Play for Adults 3 min Read.

The 9 Best Board Games for College Kids and Young Adults in 2020 by Lexi Dwyer 7 min read.

Cheers to Silly Seniors. More than just geriatric badasses.

Every day the world gets more serious, so fun is the most powerful thing in the world right now.
Ian Brackenbury Channell, The Wizard of Christchurch

Silly seniors? It’s the only way to go (Read 2 Minutes)

Credit: “Crush On: Lynn Ruth Miller” Freeda En

A good laugh, a playful prank and other such ‘silly’ behavior once in a while doesn’t just lift your spirits and relieve stress; it can also have a positive physical impact on your health.
Rebecca Weber, CEO Association of Mature American Citizens

How To Live Forever….The Documentary (Read: 2 minutes)

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