The body, they say, heals with play. The mind with laughter and the spirit with joy. We have known all three with abandon, as children. In moments of play, we were giants and superheroes, space travellers and dragon slayers, presidents and celebrities. We had no reason to think that we couldn’t be whoever we chose to be, so pure was our conviction and so strong our imagination. Somewhere along the road, the critic in all of us awakens and banishes that happy little child.

The critic is cynical and discouraging. And as we grow, the cynic becomes our constant companion, reminding us just how small we are and telling us that dreams are nothing but a whimsical waste of time. We start planning how we spend our time, packing every moment with agendas and to-do lists, leaving no room for daydreaming or impulsive spontaneity. We forget the magic of wishing things till they come true. We let go of wonder and awe, two things that our soul needs to stay well. We turn into shells of our original joyous selves.

The good news is, all this can be reversed. We have the power to turn back the clock and invite that banished child back into our lives. A good place to start is by not taking ourselves and everything else, too seriously. By lightening up. Toiling away with our heavy burdens and grumbling our way through doesn’t make the burdens any easier to carry. Each one of us has a burden of our own, and how we journey through our lives makes us the people we are. We can hop along the way, stop to sing a song, pluck some flowers, and banter with a stranger. Or we can be ‘grown-up’ about it, moan and rant, and allow our troubles to eclipse the beauty of the world around us. Play is therapeutic. Emotionally and physically. It engages parts of us that have been literally benched for years. It releases creativity, builds imagination, relieve stress, escalate learning, amplify joy and connect us to ourself and the world around us.

When we connect with another, we build intimacy and trust, which is the baseline for emotional bonding. We can play with a pet, partners, spouses, children, parents, coworkers and friends. Any relationship can benefit from play and spontaneity. Even our own relationship with ourselves. Play is known to heal emotional wounds and even block physical pain. Frisbee, board games, cards, word games, physical games even IQ games, all these can get the feel-good endorphins flowing. Not only can these hormones trigger an overall feel- good state, but they have also been known to spike creativity dramatically. This is why Google and so many companies fill their campuses with all sorts of fun leisure activities. They are ensuring peak creativity levels in their employees. The play ethic is something we need to internalize ourselves to boost our own productivity. Success doesn’t depend on the amount we work. It depends on the quality of our work. And the quality of our work depends on our well-being – emotional and physical. Pausing for play is the best way to replenish ourselves and prevent burnout.

Go ahead, reach out to the child that was you. Invite that little one out to play. Look at the world through that innocent’s eyes and explore what you see around you, afresh. With abandon. Feel that lightness of being. Celebrate the child in you.