Earlier this year, I shared play as my theme for the year. I’d love to tell you that I’ve been finding joy & lightness everyday…

But this space isn’t about hiding the failures.

I feel like I’ve been struggling with rekindling my creative fire, even in my work, where I desperately need to find some stoke & flow. Not total failure. I’ve had bursts of engagement, and more come to mind as I truly look for them in my memory. But right now work & other parts of life are heavy. I feel tired & weighed down. It’s hard to see in the fog.

I feel a bit stuck on the more literal interpretation of play as well. I have ideas for how I want to explore play, and yet I haven’t really gotten out of the starting blocks. I’m just looking at the track ahead, trying to figure out what’s holding me in place.

The goal is not entirely lost. I’m still making time to get out for my simplest, most natural play out on the trails.

It’s been a sloppy spring in the PNW. I recall a few years back realizing how, as adults, we try so hard to avoid the mud & puddles that we relished splashing through as kids. In recent weeks, the mess has been unavoidable & rather than evade or complain, I’m trying to embrace the fun & absurdity of coming home soaking wet & covered with bits of mountains.

Maybe for now, and the hard weeks ahead, it’s enough to let that little kid out when the moments present themselves. Maybe that’s part of holding life a little more lightly—not in performing play but staying open & welcoming it into the spaces where it reveals itself.