Friday, July 26, 2024
When I was a kid, playtime was magical. Anything would do! A stick was a sword. Old sheets were a makeshift fort. I remember in the spring when the vacant lots in the neighborhood were covered in clover, my friends and I “built” homes. We used piles of clover to outline floor plans. Our homes had no three-dimensional structure. It was merely an outline, and it was perfect. The resources weren’t fancy, but plentiful, and creating was a blast. Whatever was missing, we filled in the gaps with make-believe. Kids don’t have obstacles to playtime. In my day, just an old box or a scrap piece of wood was a treasure.
My parents bought me a Casio keyboard one year, and it had an “organ” button on it. It was all I needed to play church. I played hymns, and with two cassette tape recorders, I dubbed myself singing in four parts. I’m sure it was dreadful, but I didn’t care. As an adult, I’ve played some of the grandest and fanciest pipe organs in the world, and I don’t think it made me any happier than playing my little Casio in my bedroom in 1986.
Artistic types take what they already have and convert it into something magical. Gratefully use what you have, and more will be given. Think lack, hold your hands out while pleading for more, and none will be given. Your skills may be as crude as a house of clover, but an outline is fine. Create a sketch on the sidewalk with chalk. Make it magical, and one day you’ll be using an easel.
Life’s playground is limitless. Take a closer look at what’s already there. Whatever is missing, think like a kid, and backfill with imagination. It works for them. You can make it work. Is anything really holding you back?