Day 3: Wander With Me

Happy Saturday, friends!

How did yesterday's prompt, LAUGH feel to you? Was it easier or harder than expected? Personally, I found it surprisingly difficult to reach the kind of deep laughter that comes from my belly, versus laughter I found in my chest or head. Why is that? Well - Play isn't always the easiest thing for us to access. But with conscious effort + today's theme, I think you'll be feeling a bit more ease by the end of the weekend. Which means I am so happy to have you following along for the ride today with our Day 3 Theme of WANDER and let me tell you, it is truly one of my favorite words.

In order to really WANDER, we need something else first. ALLOWING is central to the idea of Wandering. Turns out that this is also one of the keystones of play : the idea of allowing. When getting to know ourselves in playful spaces, it is super important to allow ourselves the space to wander and play without judgement, fear of criticism, or pressure. This is one of the hardest things for us as adults, since our regular operating spaces are so full of responsibilities, judgements,, and pressurized moments.

It may help you to take a couple of moments before starting in on your play today to GET LOOSE! Allow yourself to let go of any expectations you hold, and simply wander.

How do we get loose? I'm glad you asked.

Since switching in to play-mode can sometimes feel awkward coming from a very serious or tense place, I love to start my play sessions with a 1 song dance party. This helps me loosen up (physically, mentally, emotionally) before starting in on my play activity for the day. It's all about putting on that playful mindset, baby. How do you like to get yourself ready to play?

Once you feel ready to wander - - - let's go!

WANDER connects us to play property #2 - FREE SPACE. When we are truly accessing Play, we are in a completely expansive physical / emotional / mental space. It doesn't cost us anything to get to this internal space, we can stay as long as we want, and it travels with us wherever we are.

This time in the world has meant many of us lost access to our regular playing spaces. Physical places that we used to have easy access to for playing (alone or together) are not resources for us currently. So it is ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT to be working out ways in which we can still PLAY in FREE SPACE without these.

My intention for WANDER is that it will lead you to discovering new local spaces, online resources, internal ideas, and emotional landscapes that were not quite as visible to you yesterday. We are always surrounded by limitless potential for Play, and wandering can help us tap in and tune to a new frequency.

Need some ideas to get you wandering? Check out the slides below for each personality, and peep the end of the blog post for a list of resources I have curated for your wandering pleasure.

So now, I invite you to playfully WANDER WITH ME!

The " YES....AND " Technique

Is a tried a true awareness game that was born out of Improv comedy space, but that has been widely picked up and adapted into a mindset tool by jokers, artists, explorers, collectors, kinesthetes, storytellers, competitors, directors, and observers alike. People of all types of persuasions can utilize in developing a playful mindset and practicing the art of allowing through divergent thinking - AKA WANDERING - to create a playful landscape and break down barriers of judgement and critique. Check out this youtube video for a quick rundown.

Happy Wandering!

....and as always please tag me in your posts @eastonsmith on IG or by using our hashtag #playyourwaychallenge. It has been SO FUN sharing all of your play moments with our growing community of people participating in these daily challenges <3