The productivity of play
I had a dream recently in which a mother came to me franticly seeking help for her child. She explained that the child was very anxious, very self-conscious and could not find a way to get through her school work. I was very busy in this dream. I had a lot to get done and felt resistant to helping this family, but upon a reluctant glance toward the child, the answer came to me clear as day: “it sounds like all she really needs is unstructured play.”
. . . . .
“Unstructured play” is just a fancy term for what most of us think of as just, “play.” It’s play that does not have a particular end-goal, or learning objective, or tie to “productivity” in any way. Play for the sake of play. Play for the sake of joy, curiosity, catharsis, creativity, exploration.
Children learn most effectively through play, as is outlined extensively in the book Free to Learn by Peter Gray. Having ample time to play not only helps young minds develop the interests and skills best suited for them, it also increases their confidence in their problem solving abilities and sense of agency over their own lives.
For adolescents and adults, unstructured play might look a bit different: it could mean spending an evening with an instrument you used to play, goofing around with a new creative medium, going down a google rabbit hole on a random topic that piques your curiosity, taking a road trip without a set itinerary, or even just taking a new route home from work.
Regardless of age, unstructured play invites our minds to return to their earliest states.. when our developmental purpose was to feel and experiment and understand the possibility and limits of our environments, relationships, skills, tools and resources. Exercising these muscles can help us climb out of of deep patterns in our brain and give us a glimpse at other perspectives. It strengthens our capacity for creative thinking, self-knowledge, intuition and trust, which can help us feel more equipped when it comes time to problem solve at work, at school, in our activities and causes, and in our relationships.
Unstructured play also gives us permission to tap into what brings our soul joy, which gives us insight into what we may need more of if we’re not feeling our best.
. . . . .
This dream made a big impression on me, because based on my experience with dream work, I know that child in the dream to be a facet of myself: my own inner child. It was a reminder to me that I too, need to make time for unstructured play in order to keep my curiosity, creativity and inspiration muscles in shape.
I think my resistance in the dream is relatable for a lot of us as well: that voice in the back of our heads that tells us we don’t have time.. we need to be doing more, producing more, spending our time “better.” So I’m writing this as a gentle reminder for both for myself and the families I work with, that turning that productivity dial to “off” when we can, is often more productive than we think.
