When was the last time you truly played?
Not “won a game” or “performed well,” but let yourself tumble into laughter, lose track of time, or try something with no purpose other than delight?
As Picasso once said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
Play is that childlike spark that survives inside us — often buried, but never gone.
In this week’s Slow Secrets conversation with Shouniez, we explored why play isn’t just for kids. It’s a forgotten human superpower — one that adults need as much for our joy, creativity, and health as children do.
What Play Really Is (and Isn’t)
Play isn’t just board games, toys, or sports. It’s curiosity in motion. It’s exploration without outcome. It’s joy with no finish line.
Children know this instinctively: they build forts, talk to clouds, and make up entire worlds just because. Adults, too, can live in this space — through travel, movement, art, music, even how we approach a conversation. The form doesn’t matter. The freedom does.
The Science of Why We Play
Far from being frivolous, play is medicine for the brain.
- It lights up the prefrontal cortex, boosting creativity and flexibility.
- It releases dopamine, our feel-good neurotransmitter.
- It deepens social bonds — shared laughter is a glue between people.
Dr. Stuart Brown, who has studied play for decades, found that adults who play are more adaptable, resilient, and emotionally alive. In fact, across the animal kingdom, play is how species learn to survive.
Play isn’t a distraction from life. It’s how life learns itself.
Where Adults Lose Play
So why do so many of us stop?
Cultural scripts tell us that play is “childish,” “unproductive,” or “a waste of time.” Schools teach performance and results. Workplaces demand efficiency. Before we know it, curiosity gets traded for achievement.
Both of us shared stories of when play slipped away in our lives — replaced by deadlines, seriousness, and the pressure to do things “the right way.”
The Cost of a Playless Life
The loss isn’t small. A life without play can feel rigid, anxious, and heavy.
Science shows that play deprivation is linked to stress and narrow thinking. Emotionally, it robs us of spontaneity, wonder, and that sparkling lightness that makes relationships rich.
We don’t just miss out on fun. We miss out on being fully human.
Rediscovering the Feeling of Play
The good news? Play is always waiting for us.
You’ll know you’ve slipped into it when you forget the clock, laugh easily, or feel your curiosity pull you forward. For Shouniez, that moment came recently in a burst of silliness that felt like being a child again. For me, it’s often in travel — losing myself in a dance at a retreat, or giggling while trying something completely new.
Play Across Generations
Children are natural teachers of play. When adults join them, the magic multiplies — not only are kids validated in their joy, but adults remember that it’s safe to be silly, to wonder, to explore.
Play across generations creates a shared language of joy.
Simple Ways to Invite Play Back
You don’t need a playground. You just need permission. Try these micro-practices:
- Take a different route home and notice what you see.
- Make up a game with whatever’s around you.
- Turn a chore into a challenge or race.
- Wear something that amuses you.
- Dance while making breakfast.
No winning. No goals. Just joy.
The Play Invitation
So here’s our challenge to you:
Tomorrow, do one thing just for the joy of it. With no productive reason at all.
Remember Picasso’s words. Creativity, art, and play aren’t luxuries. They’re the birthright of the child within you — and they’re essential to a life well lived.
✨ You can find Shouniez
And if this sparked something in you, stay tuned for more Slow Secrets — where we uncover the practices and perspectives that bring life back into balance.
