The Power In Play
Lately I have been doing a lot of inner child work and that involves the art of play. When we are children, we are naturally more open, more spontaneous, full of giggles. Life has a tendency to erode that from us slowly, and sometimes all at once. It’s therefore on us to rediscover it and recapture our original nature. If we can’t recapture a glimmer of our O.G. playful spirit, then we’re bound to walk around miserable and serious forever (ugh).
One key thing I've learned from my recent class on lifespan development is that the human brain, including the formation of self-concept, identity, and emotional nature, takes place in our early childhood and progresses into the teenage years. In fact, psychologist Jean Piaget posited that there were specific cognitive development stages that all children go through in any normal development. For people with chronic trauma in their early childhood, however, they may not even remember playing—maybe because the experience of trauma blocked their memories or they were never allowed to play due to an abusive or highly restrictive household.
The fact is most of us can’t escape something traumatic happening in our childhood, even if on the whole it was pretty good. Often there is a defining event such as the loss of a sibling or parent, an incident of sexual abuse or bullying (the list of human experiences goes on), but in those cases we can still hopefully remember the essence of the child we were before the incident took place.
As we recover from childhood trauma (and most of us have it), inner child work is crucial. In the psychology field, therapists can take many approaches to working with a client on connecting with the inner child from meditation, journaling, parts work, reparenting, play and so much more. I have found reparenting in my imagination to be highly effective, but we must all try the various tools in our respective toolbox and see which approach works best for us individually. Try them all!
I challenge you to think of the child you were before the trauma occurred—what were you like? Do you remember? If you need help, bring out some photos to remind you and inspire you.
What was your essence? Were you rebellious, curious, the life of the party, a creative powerhouse? How can you recapture and embrace those qualities to recapture your original essence?
Laughter is a fast track to "play" (Dave Chappelle, anyone?), but we can also try things we don't normally do like dancing, being spontaneous, sketching, listening to or composing music, building a tower with Legos, blowing on a dandelion and making a wish, getting lost in the honeysuckles on a spring day, laying on the grass and staring up at the blue sky, or simply allowing yourself to gawk in wonder at this thing we call earth and stars.
We can return to play. We can return to our true nature.
I find that when I spend time with little children or dogs for a few days, I’m naturally more loving with adults because I’ve tapped into a different heart space that is more expansive.
There is so much power in playing. It reconnects us to our souls. We all deserve to be in touch with that power—it’s our divine birthright. ☀️
Soul-Prompt: How do I let myself play? What are some things I can do today that would allow my inner child to come out? Can I carve out time everyday to reconnect with my inner child—to heal but also to just to play?
