BRDNSKY

I often read articles and stories where the authors describe life as being filled with stress, tension, and everything else that can create difficulties. The idea works great for stories because you need an antagonist to create struggles. After all, that is the purpose of drama. However, this may leave you with the impression that life is one big struggle with reprieves being added as spice. I want to tell you that life is not about struggle. Life is about participation.

The way I particpate in Life determines whether it will be filled with joy, drudgery, or a mixture of the two. What determines the blend is how I choose to percieve the events around me and those involved. After all, while you may be a part of my particular version of life, you do not dictate my experience. In the same fashion, I do not decide if your experience with me is an excellent one or an ignoble one. Each of us plays a supporting role in the lives of others. We are the main characters in our documtentary, and we have the ability to portray that in a variety of meaningful ways. Most of the time we are caught up in the expectations of others or the culture we identify with, and for many of us that is Western culture.

Western culture is not a bad lifestyle, if we remember its flaws. I don't have to describe them to you, because they are already familiar. While reading Lynne McTaggert's, The Bond: Connecting Through the Space Between Us (2011), I came across a part where Americans were said to be miserable. Well, the only reason I can think of for a description like this would be that many of us forget to do something that is vitally important to our well-being: play. This can also be called 'me-time.'

When I think of playtime, I usually associate it with kids. Have you noticed how resilient kids are? They are more than just survivors; they are teachers for adults who feel that they must put away childish things. Children have a tendency to take what troubles them and turn it into a game. These games help them work out whatever may be troubling them. They do this through role-playing. Being adults, we may find this a bit awkward, but if we pay attention, we will find ourselves playing roles that help us to express our feelings. Being connected to our authentic-self or higher self is more important today than it ever was.

Many of your are familiar with the changing energy of the planet and the surrounding cosmos. For those of us who are out of sync with whom we are, this is creating havoc with our lives. Familiar patterns are being uprooted and replaced with those that are more in tune with our beliefs. Part of the way of getting in tune is through play.

I encourage you to make a play-date with friends, yourself, or just spend some time in the company of strangers. You don't have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Even if you decide to spend the evening curled up with a good book, a friend, or a canvas. Just take time to unplug yourself from the complexities of the life you have created.