139. LET'S PLAY TODAY!

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Oh, what do you do in

the summertime when all

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the world is green?

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Do you fish in a stream or lazily

dream on the banks as the clouds go by?

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Is that what you do?

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So do I.

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Do you remember that Primary song?

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Welcome to the Creative Spiritual

Journey podcast, where Guy and I walk

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with you for just a moment on this

beautiful journey and share with you the

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joys we are discovering along the way.

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Thanks for joining me on the trail today.

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Have you-

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So what are you doing in the

summertime when all the world is green?

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The second verse says, "Do you

swim in a pool to keep yourself

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cool or swing in a tree up high?

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Is that what you do?

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So do I

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But do we really?

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Do we really still play?

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That's my question for you today

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Maybe you jump in puddles.

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Maybe you wish on dandelions or lay

in the grass and dream big dreams.

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Do you Run barefoot?

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Host a tea party?"

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It reminds me of a story of a father

having a tea party with his daughter

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when his wife comes home, and the

little girl runs up with a tea cup

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full of water, and he drinks it.

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"Mm, so delicious.

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Thank you, darling."

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And the wife looks at him and

says, "Sweetheart, Where do you

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think a two-year-old gets water?

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The toilet.

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Oh.

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So are you hosting a tea party?"

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Dancing in the rain, wishing

on stars, imagination play.

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Do you remember?

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Do you remember when we had

an imagination and we'd play?

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I had a son who would say, "You be the

mommy eagle, and I'll be the baby eagle."

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And I'd be like, "Oh, my gosh,

I'm just trying to fix dinner."

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I believe that adding play back into

our life will help us feel younger.

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It will help us sleep soundly,

feel lighter, bring more joy no

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matter what age we are in life, no

matter where we are on the trail.

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Let's talk about a few steps today we

could take to add play back into our life.

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Play back.

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The prophet Lehi in the Book of

Mormon defined the purpose of life

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as Adam fell, that man might be, and

men are, that they might have joy.

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Sometimes on this trail, we feel like

we're stuck, that we have fallen with

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Adam, and it's hard to get back up.

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That scripture is found in 2 Nephi

2:25, and I noticed that for the

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footnote of the word joy, it reads

that joy is the potential to become

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like Heavenly Father and Heavenly

Mother Do you think they play?

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Heavens yes.

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Have you seen some of the creations?

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Glow-in-the-dark plankton, dancing

lights of the aurora borealis,

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a pink flamingo, a sloth.

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And have you seen a wildebeest?

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That has to be the result of

playtime in the creation lab.

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I believe Jesus Christ also

knew how to laugh and play.

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Even though there's no specific

scriptures that directly describe Jesus

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Christ playing or having fun, or that

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Record His childhood

games or leisure moments.

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however, there are many scriptures that

frequently speak about joy and laughter

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and celebration as gifts from God, and

paints a picture of a joyful Jesus who

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attended weddings and social gatherings.

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I believe laughter and playtime is

an important part of our progress.

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In fact, did you know that it's

a principle taught in the family,

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a proclamation to the world?

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It's one of the nine

keys to a happy family.

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It says that successful marriages

and families are established and

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maintained on principles of faith,

prayer, repentance, forgiveness,

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respect, love, compassion, work, and

wholesome recreational activities,

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Also known as, ta-da, play

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In other words, a family that

plays together, stays together.

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So what will it take to unplug us from

devices and screens and take us away

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from the noise of the world to play?

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When and why do we grow out of play?

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Play is not a reward you earn

after the hard things are done.

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It's part of how you

recover and keep going.

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Let me repeat that.

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Play is not just a reward you earn

after all the hard work is done.

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It's part of how you recover

and keep going along the trail.

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What did you use to do purely

for fun before life got so full?

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I used to ride my bike up and down

the neighborhood, play make-believe

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explorer in the trees in our yard.

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We had neighborhood night games

until our parents called us in.

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And in the wintertime, there was sledding

down the big school hill next to my home.

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What about you?

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Take a moment right now to remember.

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Maybe write it down or just

even speak it out loud.

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If I was to ask you, what brings you joy?

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What did you used to do as

a little child for play?

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Not even a little child.

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What did you used to do for play?

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I don't know about you, but I

feel joyous just remembering.

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Writing this list of things I did

as a young kid for this podcast, I

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thought, "I have forgotten how to play.

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How did that happen?"

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I bet your inner child is

dying to get out and play.

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So here is my invitation,

a small step to take.

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See if you can give yourself

20 minutes of play this week.

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20 minutes, and if that 20 minutes

is so much fun, maybe you can do

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it more than just once this week.

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You don't have to set aside

a whole day, see if you can

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include others, your family, your

friends, your fellow travelers.

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Do something simple, even a quick

jump on your trampoline or a swing

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on a swing, or as simple as laying in

the grass and finding cloud animals.

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Play, imagine, laugh, and notice how much

lighter your shoulders, your heart, your

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mind, and your spirit feels afterwards.

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Hey, and maybe we can take a nap

and some snacks along with our play.

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So what do you do in the summertime

when all the world is green?

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Do you march in parades or drink lemonade

or count all the stars in the sky?

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Is that what you do?

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So do I.

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Let's play today Wahoo.

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And I'll see you on the trail.

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Maybe we can even stop and climb a tree.

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I, I wonder if I could do that still.

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Kinda, kinda sounds painful.

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Maybe I'll just try skipping on the trail.