As I listen to people, I cannot help but hear just how tired so many of us are.
This isn’t entirely surprising given we are still emerging from a long term pandemic, the impact of which may only be hitting us now that the hardest part has passed. We hope.
But, there is a collective fatigue.
For, whether we got off lightly or lost much, the time has come to start living again, whatever that may look like for you.
And I am encouraged to add that alongside the collective exhaustion is a growing confidence in returning to fun activities that have been denied for too long, or in finally booking those longed for holidays.
Fun is calling again.
There is growing awareness of conditions such as post traumatic stress and the disorder it can lead to, but not so much about post traumatic growth and the new life it can evoke, this despite the growing number of real life story’s that testify to exactly this. Yet post traumatic and post pandemic growth and life exist and call us all.
Covid and indeed ordinary life bring much loss, grief and sorrow.
And yet, ongoing new life remains beyond it all.
As nature reflects the rest and nourishment required to reproduce new life, so too can we nourish ourselves in to readiness for the life that lay ahead.
Fun can provide a big part of this nourishment.
This does not deny the losses experienced thus far but neither does it deny the new life just up ahead. Both are real and true and it is our challenge to grieve for one, prepare for the other and hold both in tandem.
New life is calling.
And the return to fun activities is an important part of our individual and collective healing, ongoing growth and life beyond it all.
It turns out that all the research I
did in to which holiday to book, paid off.
With time off being so precious a chance to recharge, the last thing I want is to get it wrong and come home still tired.
But I can honestly say that where I’m
usually eager to return to my beloved bungalow, this time I’d had so much fun
that I was seriously reticent over returning to my responsibilities.
I wanted more play time.
The holiday started as soon as I
embarked upon my train to the airport.
One of the NZ family who had been visiting was getting the same train in
to town to pick up the Eurostar to Paris.
I was headed straight for Gatwick to
catch a plane.
My destination was Samos. This is a
small, yet still unspoiled Greek Island which is quite simply, stunning.
As soon as I arrived at our resort, I
was blown away by the beauty of the bay. The colour of the sea was ever
changing but always beautiful. And as water is one of my favourite things, I
was pleased to immediately sample a lovely pool at the Hotel too, just a few
short steps from the sea itself.
I was surrounded by my favourite
things; a swimming pool, the sea, the sun, great people and good food. I had
everything I needed. In fact, I didn’t set foot in a shop all week. Utter
bliss!
My greatest dilemma of a morning post
a holiday sized breakfast, was whether to set myself up at the pool or the
beach.
Divine.
The beach often won out just because
it was so utterly mesmerising simply to gaze out at. Plus the sound of the
water gently lapping at the shore was akin to a sense of God stroking my hair.
There was something SO comforting about it that I never tired of it.
Whilst I rarely sat on my lounger, on
the odd occasion I did, I promptly fell asleep!
But it didn’t happen often for the
call of the sea and all you could do on, in or by it was too delicious to
resist.
I started off with kayaking which I
seldom seem to do these days. And it was great to swim the length of the bay
and back. Such a treat for the eyeballs compared to swimming lengths in a pool!
I also joined a few others for a walk
down to another bay, this one a sandy affair.
Another day, I cycled a different
route to the same bay for another dip in the cooling waters.
And a little later in the week, I
cycled to a white chapel overlooking another secluded bay where I took yet another
dip.
One morning, I dragged myself up for
a 7am paddle boarding session. I hadn’t tried it before and have been wanting
to for some time so I thought sunrise was as good a time as any to try! I
wasn’t disappointed. The silence alone was
sacred.
Having thrown myself in to everything
on offer including the early paddle board, I’d totally worn myself out by my
mid week so I had to take a very early night!
Then after watching someone having a
windsurfing lesson, I decided this was a great opportunity for me to have a
go. So I did! Apparently I have good
core strength and balance as I was able to stand up and windsurf a little on my
first lesson. The pilates IS paying off!
In lesson two, after repeatedly falling in the sea and repeatedly clambering (unelegantly) back on to the board, I finally managed to fly across the sea for some distance before landing back in the sea’s cooling embrace. By which point, I noticed how far I’d come out and that I had no clue how to windsurf back the other way!! Fortunately, the lovely young man who had taught me swiftly appeared in a motor boat to tow me back.
After that, said youngster took myself
and another lady out on a cat (?) where I could simply laze on the side enjoying
the view and the breeze.
Such fun!!
And that was just the fun of the daytimes.
Each evening at 5.00pm and 8.45pm, I attended
dance lessons where we learned social foxtrot, the waltz, the cha-cha-cha, the rumba
and the jive.
It was just an explosion of FUN, FUN,
FUN!!
I did skive off a couple of 5pm classes
as I wanted to lounge around in the evening sunshine but otherwise I attended the
lot, learned heaps and laughed masses!
The entire experience was a treat of the
highest order.
Total fun therapy!
And now of course, it is time to plan
the next one!
Recently I’ve noticed a particular theme which grabs my attention from time to time.
As I listen to people talk about the various trials and tribulations of life, it becomes apparent that when consumed by these life challenges, one of the first things to get squeezed out of the schedule is … having fun.
It seems to start so subtly that it operates off the radar thus stealing the opportunities for fun without even being noticed. Sometimes it’s years before people realise that they have unwittingly allowed themselves to lose or to stop investing time in all the very things that bring them joy.
There is a further pattern to the things that appear to get stolen which is that they are usually creative in nature. For some it will be painting or sketching or for others something musical or baking and so the list goes on and on.
Fun takes different forms for all.
But we all need fun.
But it’s as if at some point within adulthood, these activities get thrown in the back room, often to never be seen again. Once out of sight, they get forgotten about. As if these are things that we simply grow out of or cease to need.
I think quite the opposite is true for once we enter the world of adulting with all its responsibility and seriousness, I think we need the fun, physical and playful stuff even more than ever! If only to balance out the heaviness of all the grown up stuff.
Yet it is as if play is written off as only being the domain of those officially known as ‘children’.
What nonsense!
Why should the little people get all the fun?
Don’t we need it even more?!
It is almost like there is an unwritten rule that folk unwittingly sign up to that banishes all fun in favour of responsibility, as if the two cannot be interwoven.
No wonder so many adults are bitter and resentful about their lot.
Fun, play and creativity are the very aspects of life that nourish us sufficiently to do all the big stuff.
They provide us with a source of joy.
We need them.
And we let them go at our peril.
I became aware that I had allowed myself to lose some of my playtime during the seriousness of my many years of studying and training. I felt like my creative juices had ceased to flow. Blocked up by an imbalance of work.
And so I dedicated a year to reclaiming the gift of fun.
Big time.
I enrolled the help of an excellent book called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, which guided me through the very important yet oh so fun business of reclaiming some of my favourite things; downtime, play and underpinning all … creativity.
I rediscovered old joys like baking cakes (and of course eating them), writing, dancing and reading but I’ve also discovered new ones like solo trips to the coast, singing and pilates.
Cake Baking
Fun matters.
It’s good for our health and wellbeing.
Seriously.
No matter what stresses or strains we are in the midst of experiencing, the need for fun not only remains but actually increases in the face of challenges. Thus it is down to us to proactively invest in making time to indulge in those things that bring us joy.
Laughter, fun and play really are medicine.
Soul medicine.
Whilst applying these principles at a barn dance last Saturday night, I got in to a conversation with a teacher who was discussing how schools are cutting physical education and the arts from the curriculum. What a shortsighted and misguided way to attempt to increase and improve academia.
What a tragedy.
And a false economy.
Unless we want to produce a generation of robots taught/programmed to produce ‘results’ no matter the cost, or the loss of soul.
When did we stop recognising the value of fully rounded individuals who know how in the words of the old Mars advert, to ‘work, rest and play’.
The ‘work, work, work’ philosophy doesn’t work.
Not for anyone, anywhere, at anytime.
Except as a life shortening and quality of life removing activity.
In order to function fully, us humans need physical activity, play, downtime and creativity.
Eye fodder
Whilst these are being further and further squeezed out, is it any wonder we’re becoming a nation of zombies sat transfixed by the latest series on the TV/Ipad/Technology.
Life really is too short and too full of unexpected challenges for us to allow the fun parts to be stolen.
Now is the time to reclaim our ability to play, to be active, to create and overall … to have FUN!
