Time for Play

I have some time today – often my days are filled with chores, work, family activities, rushing to and fro, but not so much today. Today is a day off – something we all need. 

So what to do with this luxury – time?

Catch up on the millions of jobs that need doing, like painting the fence? 

Or do I spend my time doing something for me? Something that I enjoy? Like a walk on the beach with my dogs or something else that I love to do like -Dance!

Yes, a walk on the beach and some dancing. And why not, I’ve got time!

Dancing makes me feel happy, takes away the pressures of life just at that moment when my feet are moving. If I think about anything else, then my feet start doing crazy things, and I’m all of a sudden moving like an elephant.

My grandmother loved to dance, even on her 90th birthday she got up and danced with the waiter in the restaurant, where she was having her birthday dinner with her family. She loved to dance, anywhere, anytime and always with a smile from ear to ear.

My daughter too loves to dance. We have possibly been seen in public dancing down the isles of the supermarket when a song comes on that we love. Or other times, I have been known to do this and her not join in – this often ends with – ‘Your so embarrassing’. But not today, today I danced freely in the safety of my own home. 

Have I used my time wisely?  I could have otherwise been doing the washing, making beds, sweeping the floor, running errands, or other jobs which need to get done to make a household run. Sure, maybe I could have done all those jobs, but do they light up my soul? Do they give me the sense that I have had a day off, that I have had a rest, that I have had time to play? 

In short, the answer is – NO.

Instead, I have skipped and run and played on the beach, filled my mind and body with music that has replenished my soul and now… Now I am ready to face all the chores and jobs for life to move in some sort of organised manner. Had I not given myself permission to play, I may have otherwise been bogged down with all the other responsibilities of life and not really felt like I have had some ‘time off from life’ at all. Yes, time off, time to play, it’s something we all need.

As reach for the kettle to make a cup of tea and ponder where to start my chores, I do not feel overwhelmed, whereas otherwise, I might have. I still feel happy knowing that I have permitted myself to play today – even if it was only for an hour- it was an hour that can not be replaced. 

How often do you give yourself permission to play? To do something that you love? Something that lights your fire and lifts your soul?

We are always encouraging our children to play, so why not adults too?