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Day 19! What was your SENSE about the past 24 hours and your Play? Did you utilize one sense, multiple, sense your way to or away from something? Do you sense something new, or old, about yourself emerging? I hope that your appreciation for the varying ways that these play prompts can intersect our days is growing even deeper and that you are getting a good SENSE of the unlimited number of forms Play can take.
A recap from me: I spent the evening engaging as many senses as I could!
Smell - I lit my favorite candle, and took time to really smell the food that I cooked myself for dinner
Sound: I am more frequently found with airpods in my ears than not. If you want to check out any of my public spotify playlists, you can catch my collection here!
Touch: Spent a lot of time playing with my cat Olive
Taste: I treated myself to a chai latte which I enjoyed while on my sight quest
Sight- I played one of my favorite games, which is to pick a random place on a map where I have never been. Today I was feeling particularly raw, and in need of something uplifting. I decided to pick a point on my map where I felt i could ~~ SENSE ~~something for me. (Just the parameters I gave myself - I often will Play in a way that challenges my rational mind and engages my imagination in a super quick way). I set off, and biked through a bunch of beautiful neighborhoods I have never been through. I curved around the edge of the lake and ended at my map point, which ended up being a private park that was weirdly off limits to the public and accessible only by the neighborhood. Bummer. But this was just my sense, and so where from here? I used the next sense that grabbed me (a giant house with a colorful banner I couldn't quite make out) and headed in that direction. That house led me to what seemed like a dead end culdesac, but in closer inspection turned out to have a tiny path that led to a long tree lined walkway that ran along the backside of the lake. This really felt like a sneaky secret passage since it was so not obvious, and not accessible from a busy road. I turned down it and about 200 yards in came to an abrupt halt at this scene. Did I really find a secret garden moment or what??
What I found in this SENSORY exploration with Play was that my day slightly improved each time I was able to get out of my thinking brain and in to one of my direct senses. From here, I was able to lighten my gloomy burnt out attitude and remember exactly why I'm doing this in the first place. To bring some increased joy and BEAMS of lightness to my experience as remedy for what feels like an unbearably isolating, scary, and stressful time in the world. There is so much grief and pain and tension in the collective right now and I find myself getting sucked so easily down into the spiraling chaos of worry about what is coming next. For me - that is where I most quickly fall in to my feelings of depression and anxiety where all feels hopeless and lost. I know that that is not a healthy place for me to live full time, and what balances it are these moments that BEAM me a quick dose of lightness so I don't become paralyzed in my feelings of overwhelm.
If there are any Stephen King fans out there, you'll probably be tickled at my use of BEAM for day 19. If so - I appreciate you - and I have to admit I took some playful inspiration from the Dark Tower Series for this play prompt. When I am feeling most lost and hopeless, I remember The Gunslinger from this book series and all of the most dire and seemingly hopeless situations the characters found themselves in. In this world, all things serve the beam (the universal force that holds up the tower, and the universe) and align with the path of 19. Anytime the number 19 comes up it is a signifier to continue on the path of the beam and persevere. So I thought what better prompt to come through when I am in need of that reminder myself. What BEAMS uphold my universe? Where do I find a BEAM of light hearted play, particularly when I am feeling surrounded by the darkness of the world?
Today, I am encouraging you to explore where your play BEAMS! What lights you up? What brings you lightness and joy, what is your remedy for feelings of stress and tension and worry? Where have you been too critical of yourself, that could use a BEAM of play filled love and compassion- a gift from yourself, to yourself? Where can you lighten up and take a breath and remember to have a tiny bit of fun so that you can return to the serious and difficult tasks at hand? What are the BEAMS that hold up your universe of joy-filled ease and contentment?
See you tomorrow for Day 20! You can check out how I am playing each day by tuning in to my Instagram and Facebook stories, or take a look at our collection of play prompts so far to catch up on any days previous.
Hope to catch you BEAMING 24hrs from now!