Play: Rhymes With Frey

Written by: Kirsten Frey; Transitions Life Coaching

This is my first Artist Date — or so I thought. I haven’t read Julia Cameron’s book, so I’m unfamiliar with the concept. I immediately thought, “Yikes! I am not an artist, what am I going to do?! What do I have to offer this conversation?” Talk about taking things literally, yeesh!

I googled The Artist Date and here’s what I found, “The Artist Date is the idea of making time for yourself, once a week, on your own, to do something ‘enchanting’. To play, have fun, or do something that nourishes your creative spirit.”

Well, hold the phone. Play? Have fun? My Inner Child just perked up her ears. It’s been a very long time since she’s been given free rein to get lost, explore and delight in whatever comes her way. So what to do?

We have had a lot of grey and rainy days this month but on Monday, Mother Nature graced us with a gorgeous day. Sunny skies and a warm breeze. I had spent the weekend prepping, then running a workshop so I hadn’t been outside in two days. I decided to go for a run. Once I stepped out and felt the sun on my face, the run slowed to a walk. I just want to enjoy this gorgeous day! Because of the rain, the grass is lush and green. All the trees and flowers are blooming. I catch the sweet smell of lilac. Birds are singing loudly. I am delightfully inundated with colour everywhere I look. My step is light and so is my heart.

I follow a path away from the sidewalk and pass by a playground. No one is there. Swings are there. Memories of my childhood flood my mind. Swings were my favourite. I remember propelling myself back and forth, using my momentum to drive me higher and higher.

Feet up, head back, laughing. Back and forth. Higher and higher. Oh wait, this is me, now! I have the whole playground to myself and this fifty-one-year-old woman and her Inner Child are having fun…playing. When it feels right, I stop. Look to the left and I see a dirt path. Where does it go? I follow it and I am struck again by how much colour there is in our world. Colour makes me super happy.

This reminds me of another of my favourite childhood activities…colouring. I haven’t coloured since my son was little. When I get home I find one of those adult colouring books that was given to me as a gift that I had yet to use. I sit at my kitchen table and play with my intuition, letting it choose which colour to use next. I remember being little, sitting for hours on rainy days colouring. Making up stories about the picture I was bringing alive in front of me and my imagination. Today, the colouring becomes a meditation. My focus is on the page and my breath. I follow the small voice inside, guiding me to the next colour to use. I finish…relaxed, happy and peaceful.