Happy June everyone….

June is the time of the Summer Solstice and as we approach the Solstice I am reminded that we are here to Joyfully play out our lives….

As a little School boy I lived for the summers.

My family was poor so we never travelled like many families did but boy did I travel in my imagination.

If I was not at the ball field or on the basketball courts pretending I was Rod Carew or Jerry West I was out in the woods pretending I was Tarzan. At night under the stars, and Oh could you see the stars back in the 1960’s when there was much less light poluution than there is now, I would imagine I could take a catch rope and swing up into the heavens and go star jumping!

Then as I got older, I slowly lost that imaginational spirit of Joyfully playing. Well not really lost it. I suppressed it. I mean I was a grown up now…Grown ups are not supposed to play, Right?

Wrongo old chap. Play is an essential part of life. It is one of the keys to living a long, healthy engaged life.

As Doris Bergen, a professor at Miami University’s Department of Educational Psychology states….

“The presence or absence of play, particularly in child development, has a great deal to do with competency, resiliency, emotional health [and] brain size,” Brown said. Play is “not friv- olous and not just for kids, but something that is an inherent part of human nature.”

When we have a playful spirit our minds are more active. More nimble. We learn quicker and that learning sticks with us better.

When I get up in the morning instead of thinking “I have a lot of work to do today” I think TIme to play…how can I make this day more fun? for myself and those around me? How many smiles can I create today just by greeting others with a smile and friendly gesture. When you walk by a mirror or a reflective surface, pause and smile to yourself and say..I love you. We heal ourselves through the playful expression of self love.

So I encourage you to get out and play. be expressive in how you play and be infectiously Joyful as you Dance through Your day….

Peace Love and Playfullness.