Music by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay
Welcome to a new episode of the Imagine a world podcast. My name is Irene van Gent and host of the show and writer of the online publication that supports this podcast. Imagine a world is a place to connect and share dreams of a new world. A world in which we can be ourselves and live according to our own rhythm. This is the full text of the podcast, in case you prefer to read instead of listening.
It is Friday the 12th of May. Today I planned an online meeting for the Imagine a world members. A session in which I would share some insights on playfulness, opening up to life and abundance. Unfortunately there were no people in the session, so there was no room for discussion, but these subjects are too valuable for me that I decided to share them in this podcast.
Because this is the first podcast I like to tell a bit more about my dreams. I have always wanted to live in a world where everyone could live according to their own rhythm. The rhythm of your body. So that you don’t have to go to school or work when you actually want to be in bed. Or that you have to do things that don’t suit you, but you do them because you have to earn money to survive. Life for me is about living, not about working so you can do some living in your spare time.
I am not telling you to be better, bigger or stronger. I just want you to be yourself. I want to be able to be a writer and connector and I want you to be a florist, a painter, or a caretaker. We all have our roles in life, and I believe there is a world ahead of us in which we are able to listen to our bodies and live according to our needs. Knowing that we all have our challenges, our strengths and our weaknesses. But the essence is that we are all much stronger than we think we are. We are able to change and create new systems. We are able to be who we truly are and show our true essence to the world. When you start to live according to your personal needs, you start living from within. Then you will start to realise that all the things you thought you needed aren’t important. And that you can live with a lot less than you ever imagined.
This first imagine a world podcast is about playfulness, opening up to life and abundance. And I like to share with you some short definitions on the terms. For me
Playfulness is: the quality of being light-hearted or fun
Opening up to life means: seeing life as an opportunity to grow, as a place where you can be yourself and open up to possibilities.
Abundance is: Abundance isn’t just about having a lot of money, it is a feeling of wealth and good vibes.
When you combine these 3 aspects, life becomes really fun and full of possibilities. You start to see the beauty in everything, you’ll learn your life lessons along the way and you see there is enough for all of us. You might even start to believe that the universe has your back and is always showing you the right way. Your intuition becomes more apparent than your mind and you start to flow with life. This is the most beautiful feeling you can have, because everything seems possible. And it is not that you’ll have to do everything, you can do everything you want, but it is also quite logical to say no to a lot of things that come your way. Just because you start feeling what suits you and what doesn’t.
It doesn’t really matter which one of the three subjects you want to add to your life first. Because when you start with one, the others will follow. Just because you create room for growth in these areas in life. I always love the feeling of playfulness, because just by being playful I feel my body opening up, ready to receive and share. Playfulness for me is about dancing with life, laughing, making jokes. Being with people, having great conversations, eating the best food you can imagine. But playfulness is different for everyone. You might see playfulness as doing a lot of games or sports or being on your own in nature.
The last months I realise how much music helps me to become more playful. Something I had totally forgotten in all my seriousness on mindful living. Music makes me dance and dance is a great way to move your body and play with its own rhythm and movements. Especially when you just move like no one is watching. Don’t make choreographed moves, feel the rhythm in your body and move according to what the music is showing you. You can even dance without music, which makes the connection to your body even stronger. Without music your body really starts moving in its own way.
I like music though, because often times it shows me how I feel. Songs can give me a feeling of joy and pleasure or they give me a feeling of sadness and I start to cry. Whatever comes my way is perfectly fine.
But like I said playfulness can open up in so many different ways in your life. One of the things that make me feel playful as well is flirting. That is such a powerful aspect of feeling alive. I guess flirting for me is the most interesting way for people to play. Because there isn’t anything involved yet. There are no strings attached, you are free, but the giggling part gives you the best vibes. As I am navigating my new status as a single woman, I feel so much power in flirting. And I also see how much I have missed it in my relationships. It feels like I completely forgot that part of me that loves to be in this playful mode. Getting to know someone, having fun with them, joking and touching each other for the first time. It should be on every ones program, just without the idea of getting it any further than just flirting. Because we all need it.
When you and your partner are together for a longer period of time, flirting probably isn’t on the menu anymore. There are other things that are coming on the menu though, that are probably just as good or even better. But we shouldn’t be afraid to flirt or share our desires, but often times we are afraid to be ignored or rejected. This fear we have inside is a big thing in really being able to show ourselves. Being ourselves completely just the way we are is a challenge for a lot of people. As I was reading a book on the future of relationships it struck me that there are so many people using dating apps to meet people, just because they are afraid to step towards someone and tell them they like them or want to get to know them better.
I count myself lucky that I have always met my partners in real life and I continue to do so. I have worked for a dating site at the start of my career and I tried out all the dating sites that existed back then. I can’t remember seeing the fun in dating through a screen. Of course this was 15 years ago and dating sites and apps have completely changed. But still, I just don’t like the idea. I find it actually more scary to get in touch with some online than in real life. Because in real life I can feel a person and see if we would match. Online you never know if the picture is the person you will get to meet in real life.
So when you add more play to your life, things will get easier. One of the good things about play is you are allowed to make mistakes, and when you open up and share about your mistakes you start to realise that you are not alone in your ‘struggle’ with life. Last week I wanted to go out for a run in the morning. I woke up, put on my running clothes and stepped outside. For some reason I was a bit in a hurry and I didn’t realise the ground was slippery from last night’s rain. I fell and hurt myself. Like a little girl the tears started to stream down my face. And as I sat on the floor and checked the damage on my skin, I started to laugh. I wasn’t in pain, I wasn’t badly injured, I was just sitting on the path in front of my house feeling sorry for myself. When this realisation came over me I stood up and took off for my run.
Falling is part of the process of playing and opening up. And a necessary part too. Because you can’t learn without falling or failing. It would be great though if we could. Then we would all be superheroes. And life would become a lot simpler. But as for now, we learn through our failures, falls and mistakes. And this just gives you the opportunity to grow more and more into the person you truly are.
As you see playfulness, opening up and abundance are interconnected. Playing makes you open your heart and feel alive and abundant. Abundance gives you the feeling everything is possible and opening up to life gives you the energy to be true to yourself and helps you become playful and abundant.
So today’s question is, how can you start to play with life and feel more open and abundant?
I want to end this podcast by thanking you for listening. I hope you enjoyed my view on these topics and I truly love to hear from you.
You can leave a comment or send me a personal message.
Lots of love,
My first playful podcast