Going deeper, this question reminds me of some of my mom’s conversations with me on how I’m too serious in public. To expand upon my comment from Michele’s answer and understand my mom’s point of view on a greater level, here are the 3 keys that validate her while still protecting my base.
Case 1. I’m close to my childhood. Like I’ve said before, Asian cultures are about family of families. Therefore, my parent’s people end up becoming mine too. I frequently have dreams about my first house in St. Paul when I was 4 years old and lived there for 5yrs.
Case 2. I’ve had success under Paw Mu’s system before. It’s the same as the Traditional Asian value system, helped me get from A-B, serve as a quality backup, and has proven successful in implementing traditional values such as: obedience, humility, discipline, and honoring those who come before us to name some.
Case 3. My part-time piano performance career jobs have been establish for now. Every other Mondays, I play the piano for both the regular and virtual groups respectively from 10am-noon at Midwest Special Services aka MSS in Brooklyn Park, MN. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, I play the piano at menards also in Brooklyn Park from 2pm-5pm. I play the piano at the Scalvin Distiliary bar every first Thursday of the month from 5pm-8pm also in Brooklyn Park, of course. On the 2nd and 4th Fridays of every month, I play the piano at a nursing home in Maplewood from 2:30pm-3:30pm. All my piano jobs are 10-15 minutes in driving distance from my house.
I love being spontaneous when cooking. I look in my fridge and think: what do I feel like today? What could I combine and how? And during preparation it’s like putting together a puzzle: try it out, discard it, and all the ingredients find their place at the end. I always find a new variant, little surprise.
Dear Loc Tran, I notice that the translation function doesn’t seem to be working properly. Maybe the way I formulate my thoughts works worse than I thought.
I consider my cooking to be great (my husband loves it too). I am a good cook and I love cooking. And I love trying things out, adapting things, play.
I would say: it´s my cup of tea.
(I hope, didn´t misunderstood your comment)
Love, and happy saturday
I do find my joy and/or playfulness even if sometimes I do it solo. I went to the fireworks weds night in Narragansett right on the water for the first time and tonight I went to a community music concert in the same town after working (I had never heard before) . My friend and I play a lot of rummy 500 and Rummikub. I also enjoy finding new places to adventure to near and far.
I often find playfulness with my son and with the children that I work with, and I am grateful for that. I was also once a very humorous and playful adult, but I lost it somewhere along the way in the stresses and burdens of life. However, I recently met someone who reminded me that I can still goof around and laugh; that I can reclaim the lighthearted part of myself. I am grateful for that reminder and I’m working on making space for play and laughter.
Yesterday I went to the circus! This was one of the “17 dates for 17 years” my husband and I are going on; that was Date #10. This is a small regional circus of the Cirque du Soleil type (“Shoestring Circus”), with amazing human skill, grace, humor, flexibility, endurance, and storytelling; no animals being made to do unnatural things. We were amazed and delighted throughout the show.
Another of our dates will involve kite-flying and bubble-blowing if we get a good windy day. Right now it’s too hot and the air is still, so we may go to the ocean to get a breeze this weekend.
My husband and I are pretty playful, especially with words. We make up goofy nicknames for the cat, he riffs new lyrics for a familiar song to sing about what we’re doing or something he’s working on. We make each other laugh and that’s essential.
My reliable dose of playfulness comes in my weekly improv classes. I’m in my third session through our parks and rec department. They run for about 6 weeks. Every skit is its own new adventure in playfulness. Last week I laughed so hard at one point that the instructor said “We broke Barb!”. It felt so good to have a genuine belly laugh-til-it-hurts.
I signed up for it thinking it would be fun and would stretch my brain in new directions and that has definitely been the case. One of our practices is the “Failure Bow”: If I screw up something pretty royally and my brain freezes and I can’t think of something, I bow with a big flourish saying “I have failed!” and everyone applauds. Such a wonderful way to turn things inside out and reset that I think I’m going to take it to my work team. The courage to fail is pretty rare, let alone recognition for what it takes to acknowledge that and go on.
In my mind, when I’m open to discovering new things, I find playfulness and adventure. Yesterday, I randomly remembered a tambourine that my dad gave me when I was in Vietnam last year. I took it out and searched for a tambourine beginner’s series on YouTube. Eventually, I found a really nice tambourine lesson series taught by a motivated teacher. It’s a bit challenging for me to understand all the words she says due to my English skills. However, I believe her teaching method is easy to understand. I went through some basic lessons, and now I’m getting to know my tambourine better.
I find it difficult to study a new language (English for now) because I’m hesitant to speak to strangers. That’s why I always look for various ways to practice English, such as listening to English podcasts, reading news, and combining my hobbies with English practice. I’m so grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had so far to improve my English in a playful way, including this site.
Happy Friday to all of you!
Ngoc, I remember the tamborine you showed me from yesterday. One or a few of the beat patterns makes the tick sound just like what I always say when you tickle me. Speaking of that, I remember the first day coming on to this website when I reminded everyone here that I’m the most ticklish person there is at least within this community.
I don’t think I have a lot of adventure and play In my life.
Hmm, let me think…
When I go to a setting in nature to take pictures,
that feels like an adventure, and is lots of fun
and engrossing as well.
It’s fun to bring out the cat toys and play with my cats.
They literally go nuts! (I have four furry babies)😸😸😸😸
and I laugh the whole time!
Going to the beach is always fun. I love being in the water.
Entertaining friends at my home is fun.
Dancing is so much fun!!!💃👯♂️
Doing art with mixed media is fun.
I love playing with color and texture!
Occasionally my husband and I play cards or dominoes and that is fun.
And then there are lots of things I do that are enjoyable, relaxing, or interesting.
I could definitely have fun more often if I made it a priority.
A friend of mine once said she tries to do something fun everyday.
I am taking the online class given here at grateful.org called
Reclaim Play 5-Day Pathway that starts July 15.
I plan to use this class as a jump start to prioritizing fun in my life.
And although I have listed many ways that I can have fun,
it’s not been a daily habit for me.
I would like to make fun, playfulness, and adventure a priority in my life.
Looking at all the things I listed I have lots of opportunities.
And adding to my list of fun things to do would also be fun!
I’m getting excited about this already!
Thank you for this question as it reminds me I need to be more playful. My daughter & I just returned from a long road trip to the Atlanta area. We had a bit of fun, in between attending a funeral & sweltering oppressive heat. We had many many laughs & chuckles along the way, especially when we went to Buc-ees! Anyone else been there? Craziness!!!!
I realize I need more playfulness. These last 3 years have been so tumultuous for me & have taken a lot out of me. I am re-grouping & literally starting over. I need more fun in my life.
Peace & Love to All….🕊️❤️🤍💙
Joseph,
Buc-ees is a huge fuel shop, and has a bunch of food and giftee type things…and when I say HUGE..I mean it!! Not sure how many parking spots but many….for cars, trucks, buses, RV’s, Supposedly the cleanest rest rooms anywhere. This chain is mostly in the South. The mascot is a Beaver and there are road signs for miles and miles…I love the Beaver!!! Now…guess what??? Peter and I have never stopped at one…We are usually in our motor home with our towed truck…but maybe next year. My sister in law loves it…it makes her laugh. That seems to be Buc-ees in a nut shell… Just telling you about it made me smile!! Have a great day, Joseph!
Thanks for the info……..I have not been through the south since 1998……except for Branson, Mo. in 2010 during Thanksgiving. We drove mostly two-lane roads and I do not recall seeing Buc-ees. Guess I need to take a road trip through the south again!
I’m a pretty playful person in general.
I like to have fun. Whether it’s throwing the
frisbee, playing cornhole, the occasional
ping pong game, going to the beach and
looking for interesting shells and rocks,
or goofing around in the pool. In this way,
I haven’t changed much since I was a kid.
I could use more of this on a regular basis
though.
I feel like I get my regular dose of adventure
with my weekly mt bike rides and the
occasional hike. I like to explore my
surroundings. The trip I took recently,
fulfilled my adventures spirit. New places,
sights, smells, sounds. With only a loosely
defined route, we were able to be in that
zone between a destination and letting
the moment dictate our choices.
My sense of humour is my playfulness. I enjoy having a laugh with family and carers. Yesterday was an adventure with food. Tried a new way to cook fried tofu and it was fabulous! Best fried tofu ever! I love making up and trying out new recipies.
Playfulness and adventure have been at a premium these days as many struggles and challenges have appeared and needed immediate attention.
I enjoyed the fire works last night and am looking forward to getting together with friends for a few rounds of pinochle.
Oh, Yram, this takes me back. I grew up in a cardplaying family and played many hands of pinochle with my parents. They were in two bridge clubs and I never learned bridge, but I’d like to have someone to play pinochle with. My husband’s family played mahjongg and he’s taught me a little of that but it really needs more players. I got him playing gin rummy a while ago; time to get out the cards and do that, or find out if he’d want to move on to pinochle.
Thank you everyone on the kind thoughts and prayers on the passing of my brother-in-law. We will not be able to attend any services, because of distance and our health issues.
Peace to all of you!
YRAM, I am so sorry to hear about your brother in law. I am thinking of you…and hoping things improve for you. We do have some trials in our life. Sending love and prayers to you and yours.
Right now, I am just so physically, mentally and emotionally weary that it’s hard to remember that Life wants me to be playful and willing and able to be adventuresome. Thanks for the question. I will ponder on it but not too hard!
Playfulness in music, in painting although still somehow limited there but in the same time with transformative potential; in life as a whole, as Joseph mentioned; curiosity as a prerequisite, open heart and open mind accompanying it… in my work both creative playfulness and adventure is part of the encounter. Thank you friends for your honest being here.
There are a couple of acrobatic squirrels that hang out in my back yard – their specialty seems to be back flips, or leaping from tree to tree. It is also fun to watch the kids playing at the beach down the road. Summer fun!
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Going deeper, this question reminds me of some of my mom’s conversations with me on how I’m too serious in public. To expand upon my comment from Michele’s answer and understand my mom’s point of view on a greater level, here are the 3 keys that validate her while still protecting my base.
Case 1. I’m close to my childhood. Like I’ve said before, Asian cultures are about family of families. Therefore, my parent’s people end up becoming mine too. I frequently have dreams about my first house in St. Paul when I was 4 years old and lived there for 5yrs.
Case 2. I’ve had success under Paw Mu’s system before. It’s the same as the Traditional Asian value system, helped me get from A-B, serve as a quality backup, and has proven successful in implementing traditional values such as: obedience, humility, discipline, and honoring those who come before us to name some.
Case 3. My part-time piano performance career jobs have been establish for now. Every other Mondays, I play the piano for both the regular and virtual groups respectively from 10am-noon at Midwest Special Services aka MSS in Brooklyn Park, MN. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, I play the piano at menards also in Brooklyn Park from 2pm-5pm. I play the piano at the Scalvin Distiliary bar every first Thursday of the month from 5pm-8pm also in Brooklyn Park, of course. On the 2nd and 4th Fridays of every month, I play the piano at a nursing home in Maplewood from 2:30pm-3:30pm. All my piano jobs are 10-15 minutes in driving distance from my house.
What kind of piano music do you play Loc if you do not mind me asking?
I love being spontaneous when cooking. I look in my fridge and think: what do I feel like today? What could I combine and how? And during preparation it’s like putting together a puzzle: try it out, discard it, and all the ingredients find their place at the end. I always find a new variant, little surprise.
Barba, cooking isn’t my mom’s cup of tea. When you do, you remind me of her. Asians are known to do that.
Dear Loc Tran, I notice that the translation function doesn’t seem to be working properly. Maybe the way I formulate my thoughts works worse than I thought.
I consider my cooking to be great (my husband loves it too). I am a good cook and I love cooking. And I love trying things out, adapting things, play.
I would say: it´s my cup of tea.
(I hope, didn´t misunderstood your comment)
Love, and happy saturday
I do find my joy and/or playfulness even if sometimes I do it solo. I went to the fireworks weds night in Narragansett right on the water for the first time and tonight I went to a community music concert in the same town after working (I had never heard before) . My friend and I play a lot of rummy 500 and Rummikub. I also enjoy finding new places to adventure to near and far.
Rummikub is a great game of luck, and statagy along with frustration 🫤.
yes you nailed it!
I often find playfulness with my son and with the children that I work with, and I am grateful for that. I was also once a very humorous and playful adult, but I lost it somewhere along the way in the stresses and burdens of life. However, I recently met someone who reminded me that I can still goof around and laugh; that I can reclaim the lighthearted part of myself. I am grateful for that reminder and I’m working on making space for play and laughter.
Yesterday I went to the circus! This was one of the “17 dates for 17 years” my husband and I are going on; that was Date #10. This is a small regional circus of the Cirque du Soleil type (“Shoestring Circus”), with amazing human skill, grace, humor, flexibility, endurance, and storytelling; no animals being made to do unnatural things. We were amazed and delighted throughout the show.
Another of our dates will involve kite-flying and bubble-blowing if we get a good windy day. Right now it’s too hot and the air is still, so we may go to the ocean to get a breeze this weekend.
My husband and I are pretty playful, especially with words. We make up goofy nicknames for the cat, he riffs new lyrics for a familiar song to sing about what we’re doing or something he’s working on. We make each other laugh and that’s essential.
My reliable dose of playfulness comes in my weekly improv classes. I’m in my third session through our parks and rec department. They run for about 6 weeks. Every skit is its own new adventure in playfulness. Last week I laughed so hard at one point that the instructor said “We broke Barb!”. It felt so good to have a genuine belly laugh-til-it-hurts.
I signed up for it thinking it would be fun and would stretch my brain in new directions and that has definitely been the case. One of our practices is the “Failure Bow”: If I screw up something pretty royally and my brain freezes and I can’t think of something, I bow with a big flourish saying “I have failed!” and everyone applauds. Such a wonderful way to turn things inside out and reset that I think I’m going to take it to my work team. The courage to fail is pretty rare, let alone recognition for what it takes to acknowledge that and go on.
In my mind, when I’m open to discovering new things, I find playfulness and adventure. Yesterday, I randomly remembered a tambourine that my dad gave me when I was in Vietnam last year. I took it out and searched for a tambourine beginner’s series on YouTube. Eventually, I found a really nice tambourine lesson series taught by a motivated teacher. It’s a bit challenging for me to understand all the words she says due to my English skills. However, I believe her teaching method is easy to understand. I went through some basic lessons, and now I’m getting to know my tambourine better.
I find it difficult to study a new language (English for now) because I’m hesitant to speak to strangers. That’s why I always look for various ways to practice English, such as listening to English podcasts, reading news, and combining my hobbies with English practice. I’m so grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had so far to improve my English in a playful way, including this site.
Happy Friday to all of you!
Ngoc, I remember the tamborine you showed me from yesterday. One or a few of the beat patterns makes the tick sound just like what I always say when you tickle me. Speaking of that, I remember the first day coming on to this website when I reminded everyone here that I’m the most ticklish person there is at least within this community.
I don’t think I have a lot of adventure and play In my life.
Hmm, let me think…
When I go to a setting in nature to take pictures,
that feels like an adventure, and is lots of fun
and engrossing as well.
It’s fun to bring out the cat toys and play with my cats.
They literally go nuts! (I have four furry babies)😸😸😸😸
and I laugh the whole time!
Going to the beach is always fun. I love being in the water.
Entertaining friends at my home is fun.
Dancing is so much fun!!!💃👯♂️
Doing art with mixed media is fun.
I love playing with color and texture!
Occasionally my husband and I play cards or dominoes and that is fun.
And then there are lots of things I do that are enjoyable, relaxing, or interesting.
I could definitely have fun more often if I made it a priority.
A friend of mine once said she tries to do something fun everyday.
I am taking the online class given here at grateful.org called
Reclaim Play 5-Day Pathway that starts July 15.
I plan to use this class as a jump start to prioritizing fun in my life.
And although I have listed many ways that I can have fun,
it’s not been a daily habit for me.
I would like to make fun, playfulness, and adventure a priority in my life.
Looking at all the things I listed I have lots of opportunities.
And adding to my list of fun things to do would also be fun!
I’m getting excited about this already!
Thank you for this question as it reminds me I need to be more playful. My daughter & I just returned from a long road trip to the Atlanta area. We had a bit of fun, in between attending a funeral & sweltering oppressive heat. We had many many laughs & chuckles along the way, especially when we went to Buc-ees! Anyone else been there? Craziness!!!!
I realize I need more playfulness. These last 3 years have been so tumultuous for me & have taken a lot out of me. I am re-grouping & literally starting over. I need more fun in my life.
Peace & Love to All….🕊️❤️🤍💙
PKR what is Buc-ees?
Joseph,
Buc-ees is a huge fuel shop, and has a bunch of food and giftee type things…and when I say HUGE..I mean it!! Not sure how many parking spots but many….for cars, trucks, buses, RV’s, Supposedly the cleanest rest rooms anywhere. This chain is mostly in the South. The mascot is a Beaver and there are road signs for miles and miles…I love the Beaver!!! Now…guess what??? Peter and I have never stopped at one…We are usually in our motor home with our towed truck…but maybe next year. My sister in law loves it…it makes her laugh. That seems to be Buc-ees in a nut shell… Just telling you about it made me smile!! Have a great day, Joseph!
Thanks for the info……..I have not been through the south since 1998……except for Branson, Mo. in 2010 during Thanksgiving. We drove mostly two-lane roads and I do not recall seeing Buc-ees. Guess I need to take a road trip through the south again!
PKR, Joseph, and Nannette, that sounds delicious. I love food.
I’m a pretty playful person in general.
I like to have fun. Whether it’s throwing the
frisbee, playing cornhole, the occasional
ping pong game, going to the beach and
looking for interesting shells and rocks,
or goofing around in the pool. In this way,
I haven’t changed much since I was a kid.
I could use more of this on a regular basis
though.
I feel like I get my regular dose of adventure
with my weekly mt bike rides and the
occasional hike. I like to explore my
surroundings. The trip I took recently,
fulfilled my adventures spirit. New places,
sights, smells, sounds. With only a loosely
defined route, we were able to be in that
zone between a destination and letting
the moment dictate our choices.
My sense of humour is my playfulness. I enjoy having a laugh with family and carers. Yesterday was an adventure with food. Tried a new way to cook fried tofu and it was fabulous! Best fried tofu ever! I love making up and trying out new recipies.
I’d love to get the recipe for this tou!😊
Hi Mary, here’s the recipe. The magic is in tearing the tofu and soaking in salt water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ZBOIIftvM
Thank you Butterfly!
Me too! I discovered this recipe this winter and it’s a winner: https://www.veganricha.com/spicy-peanut-butter-ramen/.
Hi Barb, recipe posted above. Thanks for yours 😊
Playfulness and adventure have been at a premium these days as many struggles and challenges have appeared and needed immediate attention.
I enjoyed the fire works last night and am looking forward to getting together with friends for a few rounds of pinochle.
Oh, Yram, this takes me back. I grew up in a cardplaying family and played many hands of pinochle with my parents. They were in two bridge clubs and I never learned bridge, but I’d like to have someone to play pinochle with. My husband’s family played mahjongg and he’s taught me a little of that but it really needs more players. I got him playing gin rummy a while ago; time to get out the cards and do that, or find out if he’d want to move on to pinochle.
It was a fun time. I played well and alertly. The cards fell right also.
It was canasta on my dad’s side 🙂
Thank you everyone on the kind thoughts and prayers on the passing of my brother-in-law. We will not be able to attend any services, because of distance and our health issues.
Peace to all of you!
YRAM, I am so sorry to hear about your brother in law. I am thinking of you…and hoping things improve for you. We do have some trials in our life. Sending love and prayers to you and yours.
💐
Right now, I am just so physically, mentally and emotionally weary that it’s hard to remember that Life wants me to be playful and willing and able to be adventuresome. Thanks for the question. I will ponder on it but not too hard!
Oh Carol, I understand…I hope better days come your way and soon. Sending love and prayers to you.
Thank you, Nannette…Hope you are getting stronger every day.
💐
Playfulness in music, in painting although still somehow limited there but in the same time with transformative potential; in life as a whole, as Joseph mentioned; curiosity as a prerequisite, open heart and open mind accompanying it… in my work both creative playfulness and adventure is part of the encounter. Thank you friends for your honest being here.
There are a couple of acrobatic squirrels that hang out in my back yard – their specialty seems to be back flips, or leaping from tree to tree. It is also fun to watch the kids playing at the beach down the road. Summer fun!