Play is a Four Letter Word

Chaos and Balloons by Natasha Reilly

Play is a four letter word.

I ran into an old friend on the street once and said, “Wow, it’s so great to see you. We need to play soon.”

When my brother was about four-years-old, he walked up to my mom, tugged on her nightgown and when she turned to him, he looked at her and innocently said, “Shit.”

The look on my friend’s face that day was similar to the look on mom’s face only I couldn’t understand why. I hadn’t dropped any curse words or had I?

So often we reserve “play” for children and childish things. The very word is seen as offensive to adult ears and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why. When children play they are using their imagination to create games, adventures, and possibilities of all kinds. They are solving problems, developing the tools to connect, work, debate and grow with others. It is through play that children question, learn and become inspired by the world around them. Where is it written that adults have all the answers and no longer need to generate ideas, solve problems or learn? And let’s not forget fun. Is fun only meant for children? Far too many folks I know are feeling sad, weighed down by current events and stuck in life and I believe it has to do with a lack of play. Actually, I know it does because I was there.

For awhile, I was barely laughing. I was busy doing things that felt like “have to’s” and “shoulds.” I was spending too much time listening to the news which can seriously suck the life out of you if you don’t have a good balance and making little time for myself. I kept saying things like, “The world needs more joy. Where has all the joy and laughter gone?”

What I wasn’t saying was - I need more joy. I need more laughter. I was looking for a way to infuse the world with joy when I was lacking it myself - how’s that for being out of touch with oneself?

Closeup of Page 2 of Chaos and Balloons by Natasha Reilly

For years, I would venture into bookstores in search of a specific book. I wasn’t sure of the title but I knew that when I found and opened it, I wanted to feel like I’d just met up with my best friend in the most magical space imaginable. For years, I’ve looked for it until recently when I realized in the drawings and paintings I am doing in my sketchbook, I’m creating it. I’m playing and every single time I lay a line down or throw around some color, I find something new.

The end results do not have to be perfect - in fact, imperfection is a gift, it’s our vulnerable voices rejoicing at being set free on the page. That is what you are witnessing in the photo above - it’s a world in which chaos is present but love is at its core. It is joy. In this piece - as with many I work on - I struggled and faced moments when I hated my work but when I finished, I felt so good I couldn’t wait to break out my sketchbook again to play with words, images, paint, or whatever called to me.

Closeup of Page 1 of Chaos and Balloons by Natasha Reilly

When I write words like the ones above, I’m capturing my voice and making space for it in the world. In doing so, I not only feel refreshed when I close the book because I made time for me, I am filled with a greater sense of openness, compassion, joy and playfulness as I move through life. I can be present for things and the idea of coming up with solutions to obstacles does not feel daunting but instead it feels like a challenge I can handle.

Artists and writers throughout history have drawn, written and created in their sketchbooks and journals - perhaps those were their playgrounds. I know my sketchbook is mine. It is where I allow my ideas to climb out of my imagination like children and run amok. It is where I build spaces and fill them with color, ideas, silliness, and joy. My world now has more color and joy and I hope in sharing this to inspire others to wear that four letter word like a badge of honor because through play, we explore, connect, bask in and ultimately, fall in love with the magic within ourselves and in life.

Love,

Natasha