How will you PLAY this July?

As I write this, I’m packing the last few things in my bag to head to the airport to take a trip that was originally planned for April 2020. I’m thinking a lot today about how things, including me, are different now.

In the past, I would have been so excited the last few weeks as I prepared to go. Now I have more of a “let’s see what unfolds” attitude about this trip and life. I’ve also learned, as my friend Elayna says “everything is possible.”

For me, any kind of travel is an adventure and my favorite kind of play, and now even more so. Those long, long months of isolation during COVID are not something I will ever forget, and make travel even more sacred for me.

Play is also our theme for July because July seems to embody play. It’s the sweet spot of summer, and nature feels at her peak of verdancy.

Dr. Stuart Brown of the National Institute for Play offers some of the benefits of play.

“Play is something done for its own sake,” he explains. “It’s voluntary, it’s pleasurable, it offers a sense of engagement, it takes you out of time. And the act itself is more important than the outcome.”

There are numerous health benefits of play and so many options for how to do it.

How do you like to play? How important is it for you?

As I pack the last few items into my bag, I realize play is also a mindset. Can I be open to the “game” of this journey from the moment I leave my home until I return? Can I bring my wisdom about traveling safely AND bring the lightness and awe of a child open to all the possibilities ahead with an attitude of play.

I’m going to give it a try? How will you play this month?