Remember how anxious we were to become adults? Now that we're here, it’s really no
picnic. We have responsibilities as far
as the to do list can reach, we take on more commitments than we can reasonably
balance and then we get out of sorts when we don’t have time or energy for the
things that truly energize our souls and spirit.
Recently, the trend has been revealed that childlike activities –
drawing, adult-oriented risqué coloring books, exercise based on child’s play
are all now touted to be better for us than complex intense gym routines, yoga and
relaxation focused activities. How did we occupy our time as children?
Played outside at made-up games and ran all over playground equipment
from dawn til dusk. We discovered things of
wonder in our everyday experience – How far do dandelion seeds fly on the air
when you blow on them? What is inside
this seed pod I found on the sidewalk?
What is inside this dead bird - eww, I don't have THAT much wonder. Our sense of wonder has escaped as our have-tos grew. Our attention wasn't captivated 24/7 by a 3.5 - 7" video screen.
My office mate’s most common whine is “I just can’t adult today.” She is all of 28, so hasn’t truly been
adulting for all that long, just between us.
But I get her jist, sometimes the compulsion to remember all of the
tasks and complete the checklist for home, work, social, economic and self-care
is just too daunting. If I had to map
all of the things going on in my head on a daily basis…, it wouldn’t be as
pretty as the Sistine Chapel ceiling, but it would take about that much real
estate. I do not have an 8.5"x11" sized
mind or life.
While reading an article about a set of exercises intended to raise
one’s flexibility, strength and stability, many of the exercises were based on
child’s play. Paleolithic chair – the
way a baby squats with buttocks against calves to play with something on the
floor. That takes a great concentration
of all three feats. The Happy baby move involves pulling knees to chest while
lying on your back and reaching for the outside soles of your feet. Yeah, that’s a progressive process here. I sense another Bird pose incident. Is it still exercise if you require
assistance to regain an upright vertical position without the assistance of
medical aid units? We’ll see. There are the few rights and privileges afforded if one is willing to adult - cocktails and adult relations, to name the top two, but the preparation for and consequences of both tend to sometimes outweigh the benefits. But that's a whole nother story.
This morning I started with the easy thing – coloring in an intricate
design with twist up colored pencils.
Crayola has really evolved. There
is still nothing like the sheer joy of opening a fresh box of crayons and
markers. Remember that electrifying
feeling before half the markers got lost, dried out or the crayons were
broken. I got really into peeling all
the paper off my crayons half way through the year and shading with them
sideways to make me feel very Cezanne, or is it Matisse?
Must say that after the hand cramps from coloring subsided – may have
been going at it a little too intently – the day was planned out mentally
without the usual list making and over planning for the time allowed. The pertinent matters will be accomplished
and there may even be time for a playground stop. In other news, the big wooden garden swing at
work (in a retirement community) has been reassembled and repositioned right outside my window. Survived the maiden voyage yesterday, so this
return to childhood diversion thing may just be what I have needed. TAG - You’re it!
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