Just a Thought

It's Playtime...

...so let's all get in the sandbox!  Play is the way we, as humans, express our joy.

It is the impetus that drives a musician to compose new music, an artist to sculpt a new masterpiece, and a child to learn all it can about the world in which it lives.

'The Creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.  The creative minds plays with the objects it loves.' says Carl Jung.

Without a sense of playfulness, there is no desire to test the 'what if's', and nothing new would ever be conceived or devised.  If we're intelligent and lucky enough to choose something we love to do as our life's 'work', we can play every moment of each day.

When Plato said that 'Life must be lived as play.' it's unlikely that he meant it's not a serious business, but rather that without a feeling of playfulness, the blissful texture of a life well-lived would surely be lost.

Tugging on the thread that is our sense of fun brings us to novel and exciting experiences, tests our resourcefulness and creates opportunities for fresh connections and relationships.  This, of course, leads to additional forms of re-creation.

A feeling of lighthearted play eliminates irritability and promotes sportsmanship in groups, it can encourage relaxation (a major precursor to the production of endorphins in the brain), and reduces daily stress.  A good-humoured approach to life creates energy, encourages a positive outlook, and spreads infectious goodwill.

What do you think would happen in your life if you applied the concept of play to your wants, desires and vision for the future?  What if your purpose on this planet is to learn to play your way more easily to the heights of ability and production?

So, all that being said, please can you come out to play?

'I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things...I play with leaves.  I skip down the street and run against the wind.'  Leo Buscaglia

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'I' Wonder

Intention:  aim or objective, quality of purposefulness
Integrity:  possession of firm principles, completeness, wholeness, honesty, reliability
Impeccability:  perfection, freedom from sin, faultlessness

The Universe has been presenting a good number of prompts this past while, all related to the 'I' words above; I suspect it's time for me to explore their meaning more closely.  Knowing that every hurt, discomfort or anger stemming from the actions of another is simply a mirror into my own being, there is a realization that the lessons are coming. home.

It seems that everything we choose in our life begins in our mind, consciously or otherwise, with intention.  We intend to learn, we intend to do, and we intend to complete.  There can be no action at all without first having an intention at some level - it's the only possible way to initiate and propel movement.

While integrity is not the propellant, it does aim the bow of intention.  Without correct action in agreement with intention, our integrity is not only in question, it cannot exist.  To complete action in wholeness, one's integrity must be in alignment with intention.

Impeccability is the force that completes the action and hits the 'bulls-I' head centre.  When we complete any action with impeccability, we are in alignment with our initial purpose and our desire to complete a task well.

I need to remember that if I am out of sorts with you because you appear to be acting without integrity and impeccability, it may not be your issue at all (although that too is a possibility).  It's quite likely that I am acting in the same manner in some area of my own life.  And therein lies the occasion for the 'I' wonder, along with the chance to check my own quiver and improve my personal aim at the target.

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Our guest post this week comes from the incomparable Sue Fitzmaurice, author of Angels in the Architecture, and owner of the Facebook page Sue Fitzmaurice.  You can enjoy it here.

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The Act of Seeing

See (v.):

to observe, perceive, distinguish, notice, witness, glimpse, view
to understand, grasp, appreciate, comprehend
to visit, meet
to tell, realize, perceive
to find out, establish, investigate, check
to imagine, picture, envisage, predict, foresee
to ensure, make certain, guarantee
to consider, accompany, date

Have you ever really seen your morning breakfast?

Can you imagine how something as mundane as a piece of toast would appear if we actively saw it, along with the processes by which it arrived at our table?

Consider the farmer who seeded the land, watered, and cared for the grain as it grew in the fields (which required such intense preparation and then care through the seasons).  How did the grain become flour, and how many hands did it pass through in that process?  Who made the bread, and what other ingredients were required to complete that process?

If you didn't make the bread yourself, how did it get to the store where you purchsed it?  Was the cashier there friendly and helpful?  How did you get the bread home?  Did you bike, walk or use your vehicle, and how did you come by that mode of transportation?

Look at the toaster, plugged into an electrical outlet.  Who had the knowledge to create both the appliance and the current that runs through it?  What are you putting on your toast to make it the ultimate morning experience for your body - peanut butter?  Who grew the peanuts, dug them, shelled them, ground them into butter,  packed and labelled it, and shipped it to the stores?

How many people have contributed to the fact that you have an extraordinary breakfast of peanut butter on toast with which to start your day?  The active seeing gives us the opportunity to really consider the moment-to-moment miracles in our life and a wonderful way to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.