Reflections

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  1. C
    Carolyn Holmes

    My husband and I have a “Dog and Pony” Show that we take with us to doctors’ appts., shopping trips, etc. It is pure improv depending on who we are interacting with, but we generally have a ball and so do they! We usually get a “Who ARE you people (in a delighted way) from our audience. We have a ball doing this together, especially since it is pure improv.

    1 month ago
  2. Ngoc Nguyen

    It’s my mind. When my mind is relaxed, there is a sense of playfulness flowing within me. This is the time when I am in a karaoke room, singing for everyone, and people love to listen to my voice more and more. How playful and happy it makes me feel!

    4 months ago
    1. L
      Loc Tran

      It’s a peaceful feeling to be able to do something we’re good at and enjoy. We’re artists. Even if our musical styles are different, the artistic base also connects each other.

      4 months ago
  3. Robin Ann

    Oh, April fools jokes on facebook were fun and playful to repost yesterday! One was new unicorns at our local zoo and the other was a new gondola T commuter rail-ride through Boston.

    4 months ago
  4. Antoinette

    By laughing more ! By playing and smiling more. I can enjoy cleaning even when I adjust my attitude with a smile !

    4 months ago
  5. Elaine

    A timely prompt to bring my playful self to a retreat with serious intent that I’m co-facilitating this weekend! I think playfulness comes naturally when I feel relaxed AND as long as I remember that gratefulness leads the way.

    4 months ago
  6. Charlie T

    I think I’m playful most of the time.
    I enjoy goofing around and having fun.
    I hope I’m getting better at taking things
    a little less seriously.
    I believe it’s possible to work hard and
    have fun at the same time. I even enjoyed
    writing up a “corrective action plan” for
    my part time job as a chauffeur, last night.
    We’ll see if my bosses think it’s funny. 😬
    I just thought of it as a fun writing exercise.

    4 months ago
  7. Barb C

    Yesterday was the first day of 30 Days of Biking, an annual challenge I’ve participated in many times since I first did it in 2011. Some years I succeed in riding every day, sometimes I don’t. It’s a fun challenge rather than a super-serious one; riding your bike in a circle in your driveway counts as much as heading out to go far or fast.

    My e-bike Zelda is already decorated with streamers so she exudes playfulness. I can approach my rides with playfulness in my sense of purpose for the ride along with continuing the challenge and whatever other reason I have for getting on the bike.

    Not too late to register your intention if you want 30 days of playful bike riding! 30DaysOfRiding.org

    4 months ago
    1. Ngoc Nguyen

      It’s trully bring playfulness, Bard. I can’t tell how fun it is for what you have shared.

      4 months ago
  8. C
    Carissa Thomas

    I will be volunteering with kids today so this is perfect timing! I could learn a lot from them when it comes to seeing things from their playful and new perspective.

    4 months ago
    1. L
      Loc Tran

      How fun! I have a couple nieces who are 7 and 5yrs old respectively. They’re full of energy and love to play with me. Playing with them helps me get out of my own mind and refresh my perspectives. Get ready to have fun, run around, and chase them all day. You’ll be getting good exercise.

      4 months ago
  9. Yram

    A timely question! I ove blowing bubbles! If the weather cooperates, I will try to do that during the week.

    4 months ago
    1. Barb C

      Great reminder, Yram! I have a “bag of fun” in the garage from last summer that includes a couple of bubble wands. I’ll get them out. Right now it’s foggy and not too inviting but forecast has me expecting some sun later. That would be a great break from starting at my computer screen for work.

      4 months ago
  10. L
    Loc Tran

    I dedicate this question to my wife, Ngoc Nguyen, who introduced me to this website. She and I joke around with each other a lot. I enjoy getting tickled by her, and she loves tickling me. It makes me smile. Every time I get tickled, I say “Tick tick tick tick tick.” This thrills her making her tickle me even more. I’m one of, if not, arguibly the most ticklish person on this website. If not the most ticklish, I’m at least top 10, 5, or even 3.

    4 months ago
    1. S
      Ana Maria

      Welcome! I am so happy she shared this site with you! Lots of amazing wisdom and love on this site.

      4 months ago
    2. C
      Carissa Thomas

      I loved your post. Being able to have fun in a relationship is one of the indicators of long lasting love! Welcome!

      4 months ago
    3. Yram

      Welcome! I’m glad you joined us.

      4 months ago
      1. L
        Loc Tran

        Thanks. I’m very happy to be here and excited to contribute to these questions and comments.

        4 months ago
  11. Carol

    I think the opportunity to approach daily life with a sense of playfulness is always there. Not that I realized it for many years! This question is a good reminder. It made me think of a playful poem I wrote while taking a poetry course. We were told to write a ballad and I was reminded of a statement made a few years earlier by a relative about her husband. She said, “I got a pile of rocks!” So I wrote “The Marriage Ballad!”

    I remember how I chuckled as I wrote it. It was definitely a playful venture! And oh, when I shared it in class, I actually sang it…the melody just came to me at that time! Probably borrowed that melody from singing old blues tunes from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s while performing in a piano bar in New Orleans during the 1970’s.

    The Marriage Ballad by Carol Ann Conner

    The couple stood before him
    He looked upon them there
    He said unto the young lad
    She is a lady fair

    And do you take her, my son
    To be your wedded wife
    I do the young man answered
    To be mine for me life

    And may I ask fair maiden
    Do you give me your consent
    To be this young lad’s partner
    To share his bed’s intent

    For no one really knows for sure
    What lies ahead for them
    Sometimes you get a box of rocks
    Sometimes you find a gem

    I do admit I fancy him
    And fancy hope he’ll be
    But if a box of rocks I get
    I’ll try to sing Tee-Hee

    I’ll try to sing Tee-Hee, Tee-Hee
    I’ll try to sing Tee-Hee

    She stood before the preacher
    Her hair as white as snow
    Yes, I got a box of rocks
    You see we never know

    The coffin stood before them
    The preacher old and grey
    She sat with wrapped attention
    To hear what he would say

    Today we’ve come to bury
    A good man God called home
    A husband and a father
    A rock, a giant stone

    His widow sits beside me
    She smiles through tears you see
    She does admit she fancied him
    And fancy hoped he’d be

    But since she got a box of rocks
    She chose to sing Tee-Hee

    She chose to sing Tee-Hee! Tee-Hee!
    She chose to sing Tee-Hee!

    The moral of the story, friends
    It’s plain for all to see
    Sticks and stones won’t hurt your bones
    If you sing Tee-Hee

    Be wise beyond your years, young ones
    For life dis-crim-i-nates
    It favors those who drink each cup
    With love instead of hate

    For every one who says I do
    A sense of humor needs
    For rocks will fly and spouses cry
    And troubles grow like weeds

    For no one really knows for sure
    What lies ahead for them
    Sometimes you get a box of rocks
    Sometimes you find a gem

    So just admit you fancied him,
    Or her, with soulful glee
    But if you get a box of rocks
    Just learn to sing Tee Hee

    Just learn to sing Tee Hee! Tee Hee!
    Just learn to sing Tee Hee!

    4 months ago
    1. S
      Ana Maria

      I adore this poem Carol! Thank you for sharing it!

      4 months ago
    2. Joseph McCann

      Hats off to that one Carol. Thank you muchly.

      4 months ago
    3. Dolores Kazanjian

      I love it. Just what I need right now. Sometimes he can be one, sometimes the other. Sometimes it changes from one moment to the next. Tee-hee

      4 months ago
    4. Barb C

      Love this! Thanks for sharing.

      4 months ago
    5. Yram

      That is so clever and very true. Thanks! Humor and laughter hold a relationship together!

      4 months ago
  12. Joseph McCann

    Humor and playfulness for the most part is spontaneous in nature to me. It just arises as a situation unfolds, same as two kittens, two calves, two lambs, two kids, two pups, or any young animals that are calmly lying and then erupt in play. My life is unscripted, and my humor and playfulness are too.

    4 months ago
    1. Avril

      I have two 10-month-old kittens and that’s exactly how they are!

      4 months ago
    2. Josie

      I echo these sentiments.
      Well-said, Joseph.

      4 months ago
  13. Avril

    I don’t know–I try to keep everything light. I think I can try to infuse playfulness into the mundane. This week, I will be open to trying to find the fun in the litterbox, answering patient callbacks, and going through the TSA check-in. All of these ordinary, and sometimes tedious, experiences are blessings. I am so grateful to have access to these resources and opportunities to serve. Plus, my cats don’t have thumbs, so if I don’t change the litterbox it will just sit there and ferment.

    4 months ago
    1. Barb C

      I have two of your three tasks on my list this week too, Avril. Packing playfulness to take with me on my weekend trip sounds like a great idea. I sometimes tell our cat I’m digging for buried treasure when I’m cleaning his litterbox. “Oh look, another gem!”

      4 months ago
    2. Carol

      Avril, You are an inspiration!

      4 months ago
      1. Avril

        Carol, it takes one to know one. I just finished freshening the litter boxes joyfully. I told the cats I don’t remember them eating so much fiber.

        4 months ago
  14. Laura

    Work! I need to find some fun and levity among the crush of tasks and deadlines.

    4 months ago
  15. Michele

    Just last night – I managed to do 2 small April Fool’s jokes on my daughter – I got an idea from Pinterest and decorated the eggs with faces and I wrote Happy April Fool’s on the toilet paper.
    I will look forward to reading everyone’s responses on today’s question:)

    4 months ago
    1. Avril

      LOL!

      4 months ago

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