Take yourself out of the city. Out of the everyday race to work more and play less, and out of mobile phone signal, and most things will become clear.

That which matters lives in your heart. It can’t be bought, replicated, imitated or re-created.

If you are anything like me you have reached a certain age where you are thought of as being an adult. And so it is expected, by ourselves and society at large, that we are willing and able to “adult”. 99.9% of the time we do just this. We meet deadlines, clean house, balance our budgets and plan.

My question is, when in and amongst all of this “adulting” do we find time to dream and time to play? We’ve all heard the platitude “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. This rings true for us all but the reality is far more worrisome than just being dull. Having no time to play impacts on every aspect of our lives. It tires us, it highlights all our frustrations as this is what we surround ourselves with. It makes work our priority and life a poor secondary consideration. Dims our sparkle and slowly suffocates our imagination.

WE NEED TO PLAY. We need our sparkle to burn bright and for our imaginations to run wild, in order to create. We need this to perform well at work, to be great partners and to be able to contribute meaningfully to our circle of family and friends. Play should not be optional. Make play mandatory. When we make the time to play, a whole wide world of delicious possibility opens up in front of us and it’s a lil’ something like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

We all do it. Excuses roll off our tongue before we’ve even really thought of the reality of why we can’t, don’t or won’t make the time to play. ‘I’m tired, I’m busy, work is hectic, I just need to sleep’.

The hardest thing to change in our lives is the behaviour we’ve learnt through the constant conditioning of these statements. So let’s re-condition. Let’s reignite our sparkle and set our world alight with all things magical. Let’s change the conversation. Let’s be energised, excited and in awe of the possibilities that come with play.

Let us always remember in this pursuit of play, that what really matters, are the people and dreams that live in our hearts. Let this be our focus. Let this be our priority.

Now get out there and go play!

p.s. The photo’s are from a couple weeks ago when a few friends decided to take the time to play and explore Injisuthi in the Central Drakensberg. Wow. It sure is breath-taking. Why not make your next adventure a hike to the marble baths and spend the night in a cave under the stars? It’s worth it – I promise!

xxx