Sometimes when we might be feeling tired, it’s not rest we need. What we actually need is to give ourselves small windows of rejuvenation through which we live and play wholeheartedly!
Do you find yourself feeling tired a lot of the time? Or are you a person who has lots of energy, but you do a lot of things, and you’re able to go at supersonic speed for days or even weeks and sometimes even months on end.
And then you crash. And when you crash, you crash! You get sick, your back goes on you, something happens that stops you in your tracks and incapacitates you.
What’s going on? How can we be high achievers, people that succeed in the world and not have this cycle of boom and bust?
Exploring the extremes of what’s possible is part of being a human. Let’s face it, it’s what we do. But Lord Buddha, and many other great and clever commentators, including the Oracle of Delphi, have told the world, it’s not about extremes. It’s about finding balance. It’s about the middle path, a path that’s not totally exhausting, but is sustainable, and during which you get to flourish and so do your projects.
What would it look like if we backed off 5 per cent of the energy that we put into things that we’re working on? Often this is a work project or a creative project through which we think we’ll make money, gain status or advance our career.
What if we were to back off 5 per cent of the effort, and instead, play? Yes play. When we’re living in that very sensible grown up part of self, playing can seem like a ridiculous idea, ‘who’s got time to play?’, ‘I don’t feel playful, just leave me alone’.
There are many ways to define play, it’s one of the ways that we rejuvenate and regenerate from periods of intense activity and mental activity.
Play could mean spending time with your children in a wholehearted way.
Wholeheartedness is the essence of playing. Our mind, body, spirit, everything is involved in what we’re doing.
Playing might mean making love to your partner, and not thinking about what you have to do tomorrow. But really being present in the moment and enjoying the playful side of life.
We might join a sports team, spend time at the beach or a park or go for a hike. There’s different ways people play. Do whatever brings you joy that you are wholeheartedly invested in.
Each of us have to find our own balance with play. If we’re in a life where play is absent, it is only a matter of time before our body will revolt, and we will sabotage ourselves.
When we sabotage we lose the momentum that we had and we can go backwards.
How are you going to play during this time of COVID? Let’s get creative. Turn off your phone for a while, and just wholeheartedly stick to what it is that you’re doing in this moment without allowing yourself to be distracted.
Sometimes when we might be feeling tired, it’s not rest we need. What we actually need is to give ourselves small windows of rejuvenation through which we live and play wholeheartedly!
Shakti Durga is a leading international teacher of spiritual transformation. Her teachings inspire, elevate and offer practical, humorous and deeply insightful ways to navigate the human experience. She uses ancient wisdom tools to solve modern problems and help enlighten consciousness. She is the founder of Shanti Mission (Peace Mission), with its head office in Australia.