Hey, can you play today? Play is not a reward you earn after the hard work is done, discover with me how it can help you recover, feel lighter, more youthful and help you keep going forward. Remembering what you use to do purely for fun, before life got so grown up.

Oh, what do you do in

the summertime when all

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the world is green?

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Do you fish in a stream or lazily

dream on the banks as the clouds go by?

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Is that what you do?

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So do I.

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Do you remember that Primary song?

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Welcome to the Creative Spiritual

Journey podcast, where Guy and I walk

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with you for just a moment on this

beautiful journey and share with you the

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joys we are discovering along the way.

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Thanks for joining me on the trail today.

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Have you-

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So what are you doing in the

summertime when all the world is green?

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The second verse says, "Do you

swim in a pool to keep yourself

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cool or swing in a tree up high?

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Is that what you do?

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So do I

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But do we really?

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Do we really still play?

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That's my question for you today

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Maybe you jump in puddles.

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Maybe you wish on dandelions or lay

in the grass and dream big dreams.

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Do you Run barefoot?

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Host a tea party?"

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It reminds me of a story of a father

having a tea party with his daughter

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when his wife comes home, and the

little girl runs up with a tea cup

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full of water, and he drinks it.

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"Mm, so delicious.

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Thank you, darling."

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And the wife looks at him and

says, "Sweetheart, Where do you

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think a two-year-old gets water?

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The toilet.

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Oh.

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So are you hosting a tea party?"

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Dancing in the rain, wishing

on stars, imagination play.

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Do you remember?

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Do you remember when we had

an imagination and we'd play?

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I had a son who would say, "You be the

mommy eagle, and I'll be the baby eagle."

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And I'd be like, "Oh, my gosh,

I'm just trying to fix dinner."

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I believe that adding play back into

our life will help us feel younger.

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It will help us sleep soundly,

feel lighter, bring more joy no

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matter what age we are in life, no

matter where we are on the trail.

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Let's talk about a few steps today we

could take to add play back into our life.

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Play back.

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The prophet Lehi in the Book of

Mormon defined the purpose of life

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as Adam fell, that man might be, and

men are, that they might have joy.

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Sometimes on this trail, we feel like

we're stuck, that we have fallen with

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Adam, and it's hard to get back up.

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That scripture is found in 2 Nephi

2:25, and I noticed that for the

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footnote of the word joy, it reads

that joy is the potential to become

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like Heavenly Father and Heavenly

Mother Do you think they play?

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Heavens yes.

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Have you seen some of the creations?

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Glow-in-the-dark plankton, dancing

lights of the aurora borealis,

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a pink flamingo, a sloth.

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And have you seen a wildebeest?

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That has to be the result of

playtime in the creation lab.

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I believe Jesus Christ also

knew how to laugh and play.

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Even though there's no specific

scriptures that directly describe Jesus

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Christ playing or having fun, or that

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Record His childhood

games or leisure moments.

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however, there are many scriptures that

frequently speak about joy and laughter

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and celebration as gifts from God, and

paints a picture of a joyful Jesus who

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attended weddings and social gatherings.

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I believe laughter and playtime is

an important part of our progress.

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In fact, did you know that it's

a principle taught in the family,

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a proclamation to the world?

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It's one of the nine

keys to a happy family.

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It says that successful marriages

and families are established and

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maintained on principles of faith,

prayer, repentance, forgiveness,

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respect, love, compassion, work, and

wholesome recreational activities,

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Also known as, ta-da, play

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In other words, a family that

plays together, stays together.

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So what will it take to unplug us from

devices and screens and take us away

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from the noise of the world to play?

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When and why do we grow out of play?

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Play is not a reward you earn

after the hard things are done.

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It's part of how you

recover and keep going.

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Let me repeat that.

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Play is not just a reward you earn

after all the hard work is done.

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It's part of how you recover

and keep going along the trail.

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What did you use to do purely

for fun before life got so full?

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I used to ride my bike up and down

the neighborhood, play make-believe

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explorer in the trees in our yard.

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We had neighborhood night games

until our parents called us in.

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And in the wintertime, there was sledding

down the big school hill next to my home.

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What about you?

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Take a moment right now to remember.

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Maybe write it down or just

even speak it out loud.

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If I was to ask you, what brings you joy?

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What did you used to do as

a little child for play?

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Not even a little child.

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What did you used to do for play?

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I don't know about you, but I

feel joyous just remembering.

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Writing this list of things I did

as a young kid for this podcast, I

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thought, "I have forgotten how to play.

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How did that happen?"

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I bet your inner child is

dying to get out and play.

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So here is my invitation,

a small step to take.

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See if you can give yourself

20 minutes of play this week.

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20 minutes, and if that 20 minutes

is so much fun, maybe you can do

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it more than just once this week.

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You don't have to set aside

a whole day, see if you can

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include others, your family, your

friends, your fellow travelers.

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Do something simple, even a quick

jump on your trampoline or a swing

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on a swing, or as simple as laying in

the grass and finding cloud animals.

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Play, imagine, laugh, and notice how much

lighter your shoulders, your heart, your

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mind, and your spirit feels afterwards.

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Hey, and maybe we can take a nap

and some snacks along with our play.

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So what do you do in the summertime

when all the world is green?

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Do you march in parades or drink lemonade

or count all the stars in the sky?

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Is that what you do?

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So do I.

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Let's play today Wahoo.

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And I'll see you on the trail.

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Maybe we can even stop and climb a tree.

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I, I wonder if I could do that still.

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Kinda, kinda sounds painful.

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Maybe I'll just try skipping on the trail.