We grow up and collect adult things and people. We disconnect from our inner child, removing the fun to become more of something. But, when we laugh, we stimulate the vagus nerve, breathing fully, smiling, telling the brain that we are happy.We create our realities out of our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. We must create with joy as a way of life. The Law of Attraction says like draws like. So, you choose which emotions and feelings with which to engage.
When we play, we change our entire physiology. Our brains bodies seduce us to joy and peace through pheromones and chemicals that allow us to make an impression and infect others with our smiles. Mirror neurons in our brains react to other humans who see you and you can bring the room up with your joyful disposition alone! You deserve and need present moment joy to grow into a more happy person.
What entranced you, created laughter for you, allowed you to feel a sense of release or belonging, made you feel crazy happy when you were young? Do that thing! The very act of playing solitaire, coloring, throwing a football, or jumping rope acts as bilateral stimulation to settle the nervous system and produce feelings of expansion and creativity through laughter. In fact, bilateral stimulation soothes trauma responses and it is used in EMDR Trauma Therapy to heal PTSD.
Here are some ideas for adults to use play and present moment joy to bring the inner child out and influence the people around us:
- Create art with shaving cream on a table. Use shaving cream and food coloring on a clean table top to create art. It wipes right off.?
- Roller or ice skate, blade, or ride a bike! Enjoy the music, the comfortable and safe setting of a rollercade perhaps, treats at the snack bar, and the attention off your lacking street cred in the roller world. Or, find steady ground at home to roll and rock those earbuds and get your body moving! Row a boat, ride a motorcycle, or lay in the grass!
- Paint, color, draw, or create art with your hands. Pull out the sidewalk chalk! Draw in a circular motion to calm the nervous system. This bilateral stimulation allows for the processing of difficulty and works to center you. The added colors allow for dreams to be more easily accessed. Color brings creativity and can bring to life your inner spirit of peace and joy. Hint: When you’re having a bad day or night, color or journal. Get it out and on paper!
- Go outside! Play with a ball, frisbee, another human or critter. Run, walk, or climb. More back and forth motion in nature, the great equalizer. Immersion in nature allows for you to count the types of trees or leaves on trees. Listening allows for you to hear birds or sounds that anchor you to the present moment joy where all of your problems dissipate. You can smell the air and ground yourself with your senses to the present moment. Use your senses to calm and find peace.
- Play cards or games. Did your family have a favorite card game? When games become part of our lives, traditions and family rituals create community and safety. Bring your cards with you to attract players to create community and safety through shared joy.
- Dance party. Host a dance party in your kitchen and sing out loud! If you are too sad to dance or too depressed or anxious, pick a song that your body can’t resist. We all have one! Dance outside and in the rain.
- Sing or hum! When you hum and sing, your breathing changes, your lungs open up, and your throat muscles relax. Your body, mind, and spirit shift when you sing. This physiology allows the playful part of you to shine!
- Sidewalk chalk creates boxes for hopscotch or a profession of love or a family event.?
- Day trip. Become a tourist for the day in your city. Choose new parks to hike or walk, find tourist destinations or museums near you or even plan a visit to a small town near you that offers something special like Christmas or other attractions, theme parks with roller coasters, beautiful drives, or even natural hot springs.?
- Read a book. Put your phone down and carry a book around wherever you go. Find one you’re interested in. Take your time reading when you want to. Not a reader? Grab a physical magazine or short story and start there. Reading is still fundamental.
Stress or even loss feels so heavy on us as we attempt to get out from under too much adult time, too much drama or stress, and not enough time to recharge. You manage your time. Take the time to find present moment joy to recharge so the other adults around you can engage with a more grounded, joyful, and open You. After all, we only have the present moment.
