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Wednesday 24 April 2013

playing light

Last week at work I had to attend a Strategy workshop. For the session after lunch we were asked to do an activity called 'Serious Play'.
Now I don't know if any of you have ever done serious play, but this meant being given a bag of lego, and  being asked to make models, which had symbolic meaning, even down to the colour of the bricks that were used.
And it got me thinking. In so many areas of my life I carry responsibility, as a mum, in work and church. I don't always wear it easy, but as an only child responsibility is something I've carried for most of my life. Now in all the varying roles I find myself it can be hard to switch off, to be light and easy. I was struck again by this whilst reading 'The Rest of God' by Mark Buchanan. I've loved reading the book, but my down time has been doing some 'serious' reading on a challenging subject, no light easy rom com for me.
My over analytical brain has been telling me that I only know how to do 'serious play' and that I've lost the art of doing and enjoying things just for fun, of being a 'girl' and kicking off the roles of the week, stretching back and being light.
So, I'm making a change, and starting to build in little things for me, which do not avoid work or anything deep or meaningful. I'm going for runs, and on Friday in preparation of going away I did something I've never done in all my life. What was this shocking event?? I went to have nail extensions.
I sat whilst my nails were filed, extensions glued, shaped and then painted. The sitting still for 45 minutes was a test in itself, surely I had other things I should be doing. But I did it.

6 days later I still cannot quite get used to having long nails, the tapping sound I now have as I type, or the look of my hands.
Even on the beach I couldn't help but look.......(whilst drinking fizz....)



You see it doesn't look like me. But do you know what? I starting to quite like not doing serious play all the time of learning to rest in a different way. Having my nails done could become a habit.....


Jane

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