Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Yes, this is a real day recognized internationally. The last two days I have talked about laughter and choosing how your day turns out by choosing what you focus on. Today, I'm choosing play and laughter. As adults we sometimes forget how important play is in our everyday lives. It is easy to get caught up in the day to day to do list and responsibilities and forget to just be silly. Being around children can help as they often model this for us. But how do we find it on our own? Days of celebration and holidays are a great start. International Talk Like a Pirate Day and Halloween are fun days to let that playful side out. But what about in between? A couple part-days a week I still give massages for clients out of a small personal training gym. I enjoy showing up for work randomly wearing a mustache or silly socks that show. On occasion if the gym is more open I will do a couple cartwheels past a small group hard at work. It's the little, unexpected things that make people smile or laugh. Wearing my stuffed panda hat while dancing in my car to "Everybody Was KungFu Fighting" is another sure way to spread some laughter and fun with random people. These playful acts are things that I can incorporate into my day that are playful and bring me joy. Two days ago I was at work and one of the gym patrons stopped me. He had noticed that I hadn't done any of my silly antics in a few weeks and was disappointed and wanted to check on me. People notice and the laughter and joy they get from my play uplifts their day too. It builds bonds and spreads joy. There is no harm in the laughter we share. Any judgements others may feel are a reflection of the loss of their own inner child and I do not take that personally. But the joy of sharing my play greatly outweighs the risks. I'm so grateful for the man who stopped me at the gym. I'm grateful for the people that find laughter and joy in my play. I'm grateful to continue to incorporate play into my life even as I physically age. I'm grateful for this playful nature and all the lessons it has taught me about life. I'm grateful for International Talk Like A Pirate Day and an "excuse" to wear my pirate hat into work. I'm grateful to see other people embracing their playful side and wearing fun hats or socks or engaging in their own forms of play. I'm grateful for the laughter and joy I feel and to see it in others. How can you add play into your day? How can you embrace the gift of laughter? How can you be the bright spot in someone else's day just by sharing your own joy? May your day be blessed with laughter. May you find the courage to play, no matter your age. Have a beautiful day… aye and don't forget to share yer booty!
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