There is a line from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl that says, “A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”
We can get so caught up in our focused, structured, achievement oriented, adult lives that we forget to sometimes put our silly hats on and play.
Last night I worked much later into the evening than I usually do, attending to several sessions and calls. At a point, while I was on the phone, my 12 year old daughter crawled up beside me, took my working journal and whispered, “I’m going to schedule a time to get on your calendar”. And she left me with the following note:
Besides the fact that I was suddenly gifted with the awareness that I’d created (in one ambitious evening) an atmosphere that led my child to think it was necessary to “get on my calendar”, I was also gifted with the reminder to take time to press pause and play.
Tonight, I will channel my own inner Willie Wonka and deliberately create space for as much nonsense and play as I can with my little one. And with any luck, it just might turn into a full weekend assignment.
What about you? Are you consciously maintaining space for whimsy and play in your life? If not, go for it. And if you’re at the j-o-b, I dare you to even insert it as a part of your work day.
When I worked at Wesleyan College, we routinely met in the hallway for dance breaks in the afternoon and it is absolutely one of my fondest memories from my time there.
Another favorite was the time that I walked in to my office on my birthday to find everything (and I do mean everything) wrapped in saran wrap. Yep, there is always room for a little play.
So go on. Get to it. Don’t wait to be put on notice by someone else like I was last night. Get your play on now. Enjoy!
Owning Change Quote of the Week: “We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything, than when we are at play.”― Charles E. Schaefer
Monica Moody
Monica Moody
