I’m grateful for the have-to-dos in life sometimes. For example, last weekend, I had to take Amira to the beach for a sculpture class homework. I decided to take on the assignment too – build an abstract sand sculpture. We sat down where, if you dug down a few inches, the sand was still wet. I got to playing. I could have used more water to help keep the sand together but it made for a creative constraint. I decided I wanted to build something that would be photographed from above and got started. I felt, in my delusions of creative grandeur, like Andy Goldsworthy in Rivers & Tides. The surf was advancing and I didn’t know if I would finish before the sea reclaimed her sand.
I’ve never sculpted much of anything before beyond PlayDoh. It was fun. It was a good lesson that taught me the value of setting up new experiences outside my creative rabbit trails. It’s been a few days and I can still feel the creative energy boost.
It was an spirit boost as well. Getting outside and connecting with nature doesn’t fix anything that’s happening in my life. It does give me a resiliency boost.
So smart! Going out, and playing like this! We need more of this, we need to be Goldsworthy, and Mary Oliver, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, Plant Kweens, and any artist, poet, naturalist, explorer, dancer that does what they love. Isn’t it wonderful to be absorbed in play, in doing something with our whole being? Thank you for reminding me.
LOL. Reminders going all around… having forgotten the inspiration this trip was. We do need more of this! Play is uniquely human, transcendent and spiritual. I’ve always experienced you as someone who is closely tied to this truth in your life. It is one of the many reasons I’ve always been so drawn to you and your friendship.