"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:1-5
I would tell you to play with yourself. You arrived on this planet open, creative, enthusiastic, curious, and playful. Somehow along the way, play became work--with rules, expectations, disappointments, judgements, competition. And worse, play became a “waste of time.” You loved to create and play in every kind of way, using your imagination, taking risks, and exposing your vulnerability. You were genuine, unaffected, innocent, with nothing to hide. You were free.
You have nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to fear. You are a perfect human unit, whole, and complete. Any idea to the contrary is confusion and misunderstandings based on old, unpleasant, dysfunctional circumstances. If you were supposed to be any other way, you would be. Beyond the confusion and misunderstandings awaits freedom.
Nothing in your life must change. But you can adjust your orientation so that even work becomes play, and a trip to the grocery store becomes an adventure. The open soul that arrived on this planet—creative, enthusiastic, curious, playful, and free--is still you. If those words speak to you, it’s because Wisdom whispers this message to you, through your dreams and inspiration. Fear tells you otherwise. Fear tells you to buckle down, get real, fact “facts,” worry. Wisdom tells you that life is short and sweet, live it fully.
And this brings me back to a core practice of yoga: Self-study (Svadhyaya in Sanskrit). To open to your true nature, you must examine everything that closes. To be free, you must see what enslaves. Simple, but not always easy. For one thing, it’s not always easy to know when you are closed, resistant, contracted. Sometimes you can walk around that way for hours or days. Sometimes you can be rushing, complaining, worrying, and be utterly convinced there is no other option. Sometimes it just feels good to shut down, check out, be angry. Until it doesn’t.
Awareness is potent medicine, in and of itself. Simply observe yourself—which can be a horrific experience at times, to be sure. Take an active interest in what, how, why you are responding to the events and people around you. The more you study your confusion, the more it will clarify. The more you realize your resistance, the more you can practice releasing it. And when you can’t release it, you get to observe why and allow that to be. It’s important to remember that this is a scientific process, with no place for self-judgement, generalizations, harsh recriminations. The light of the sun sanitizes, and self-study purifies.
Like a scientist, you can create situations where you get to play more intensely. This could be called discipline (Tapas in Sanskrit)--another Yoga cornerstone. Watch how you respond to discipline, to trying, to taking risks. See what comes up, watch how your mind and emotions react. When you are playing and practicing, there is no such thing as failure or success. There are only blessings you bestow upon yourself, as you remember your true nature, power, wisdom, and courage.
For decades, I avoided my lifelong dream of writing. I was fearful, convinced I was inadequate, foolish, with lots of negative baggage. One day I determined to write down every interesting thought I had. Simple as that. I made sure I had paper handy, and I stuck to this habit diligently. I discovered that when I write, I feel satisfied. I feel like I’ve scratched an itch that turns into a burning pain if left unattended for decades.
The process changed my life by creating opportunities to observe fear in all it’s hideous and beautiful forms. I learned that none of those hideous and beautiful forms are true. Ironically, I also learned that life isn't actually all that serious. It's an opportunity for an experience, nothing more and nothing less.
You are the teacher, the student, and the subject of your life. Be sure to offer yourself opportunities to play, in a reality that emphasizes work, productivity, and outcomes. Through play, you will remember freedom.
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