Ode to Whimsy
Each season of the year has an essence, a theme, a distinction. We note a certain feeling in the air. Seasons are one experience that we all share in together. No wonder we like to talk about the weather!
Summer is sumptuous. It represents freedom and ease. We learned this as kids, of course, when Summer meant three months with no school! We’d get to play and relax. There were fewer obligations. We’d awake with a tiny sense of wonder, because there was no routine. Each day held the promise of nothing … and everything!
One of my favorite things about Summer as a kid was hanging out with my Sister. We had a couple of things that would anchor our day. Important things, like watching Laverne & Shirley reruns and The Price is Right (with notebooks in hand to write down our guesses so we could play too). But otherwise, the days were free.
We’d play games, lie around and read or go play on picnic rock (a rock in our neighborhood where we could climb and eat and have adventures). We would write stories, invent recipes for cookies (this did not always go well!) or go to the University pool and amuse ourselves for hours.
The free time was fun for us! It also fostered our creativity. We had the whole day, unaccounted for really, and so we followed our whims.
Whimsy is a precious gift. It teaches us what we are drawn to and helps us to express our playfulness. It cultivates passion and problem solving. We take a vacation from our usual boxes and build other boxes to play in and out of.
This month, offer yourself a reprieve from your routine, even in the smallest of ways. Follow your heart. Free yourself from the constraints of what you always do and see where your whimsy leads you!
Most importantly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, enjoy yourself. It is summertime. Receive the gifts of the season. It is your nature to be creative and joyful.
