When's the last time you wandered through a gallery or a well-done website for a new artist? When's the last time you let yourself listen to music you don't normally listen to, or music your friends would be like, "What are you listening to!?!" When's the last time you had a really good meal? When's the last time you let your mind wander through the color fields in your mind to find something it actually enjoyed thinking about?
Are you scared to do that? Does it scare you to think what might come up inside of you? Does it scare you to be that unproductive? Does it feel like a complete waste of time to "play" with an idea or an image or a sound?
"The creative mind plays with the object it loves." —Carl Jung
The research is really clear that playing is one of the easiest, quickest ways to manage stress. It calms your mind down and sets you free to explore. It de-shames experiences (such as when we use play therapy to treat kids with trauma). And if you will, for just one minute, let yourself enjoy some good art—in any of its many form: painting, drawing, food, music, theater, etc.—you will begin to discover some beautiful parts of yourself that are worth sharing with the world.
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