Today I’m honored to share this beautiful post written by my friend and mentor Susan Pullen. I came to know Susan because of a flat tire. Our mutual friend (hi, Lauren!) stopped me in the parking lot one day. She told me that my tire desperately needed air—I hadn’t noticed. Somehow we got to chatting and Lauren invited me to Susan’s mentorship group. It was one of the most profound and important things I did in my clinical training. More than anyone, Susan helped me trust myself and my intuition at a time when I really needed it. We all need a guide sometimes, and we all need someone to help bring new air into our lives. I’m honored that Susan has been part of that journey for me and I hope you’ll appreciate her words. -Dr. C

The Healing Power of Play By Susan Pullen

I was looking at an image of myself, lying flat on the grass. I wasn’t moving or breathing - was I conscious? Dead? I couldn’t tell.

Below the image was a caption: “Does she ever stop?”

I woke up, my heart pounding.

This dream highlighted for me, in startling fashion, how out of balance my life had become.

I had been living with a chronic daily migraine for some years already when I had this dream. Living with the pain, I had limited energy for life - and I chose to spend most of that energy on work. Understandably - when accomplishing the basic tasks of life and earning a bit of income and health insurance takes all the energy one has, it’s hard to say, “I’m going to put off cleaning the bathroom so I can go play for a while!”

And yet, play and rest were arguably the best things I could have done for myself - as the dream pointed out.

For as long as I can remember, creative play has been integral to my healing process. As a girl, sick days home from school were spent drawing, coloring, and making collages with construction paper. It always helped me feel better.

Later, when I had a jewelry business AND a life coaching practice AND had a day job, creativity became business. What was once joyful exploration for myself alone now had the added pressure of being (hopefully) something for which someone else would want enough to pay money.

Even without play-turned-business, it’s hard for most of us to give ourselves permission to play. Play is, by definition, unproductive. When we’re already feeling overwhelmed, stressed, overly busy, or our energy is limited, we tend not to prioritize it. Yet play can be an antidote to burnout, stress, and feeling like we don’t have enough time because play takes us outside of time.

It’s hardest to take time for play exactly when we need it most.

Play seems to be connected to our vitality. In Life, Paint and Passion, authors Michelle Cassou and Stewart Cubley write that, “To play is to listen to the imperative inner force that wants to take form and be acted out without reason. It is the joyful, spontaneous expression of one's self. The inner force materializes the feeling and perception without planning or effort. That is what play is.”

It’s interesting to me that all kinds of animals play. A quick visit to the internet will bring up dozens of examples - a bird riding a moving walkway handrail and then flying back to the start to ride it again, a group of goldfish that play soccer underwater, a cat with… pretty much anything.

Playing, and creative play in particular, have always replenished me. Nothing energizes me like making something just for the fun of it.

After this dream I started re-evaluating how I was spending the time and energy I had available. I closed my jewelry business - I just make pieces for myself for the fun of it, to go with an outfit. I left my day job and now I get to focus on the coaching and healing practice I love. And guess what? The chronic migraine resolved.

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Susan Pullen is a Life Coach and Healing Facilitator at True Radiance Healing Arts, where she guides people through discovering the hidden blocks that have held them back so they can live the fullest version of themselves.

You can find Susan at:

Web: https://true-radiance.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/trueradiancehealingarts

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/trueradiancehealingarts/