Playworks: Body, Mind, and Spirit

Update February 2017: Now that my blog is getting more attention, I want to place some references that are needed. Playworks is a phenomenal organization promoting the essential need and ways to achieve positive recess experiences for all our children. They contribute to SHAPE America and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work on this subject.

Back in college, I picked up the opinion that everyone is made up of 3 parts and we all have an innate relative strength in each one. Athletes are strongest in their bodies. Scholars, in their minds. Those interested most in social or societal issues, their spirit.

The things I’ve dealt with over the last week have proven yet again that, although I’ve grown quite a bit over my 45 years, my internal needle still runs screaming away from Body, especially when my favored arena, Mind, is not on its top game. That 3rd piece of the puzzle, Spirit, has been called upon heavily to compensate. Deep breathing meditations for the win! Lol! :-)

How could this 3-part system play out on the playground? What would it look like and what could we do to support each student’s overall being?

Body: Here’s where the traditional game-players shine. Kickball, soccer, basketball- some kids want it all. We need to play with them and challenge/support these students to also consider the Spirit: cheer each other on, use Ro-sham-bo, and let it go. Out on the Tag field, they can use their Minds to come up with new games to try.

Mind: I immediately think of those who gravitate to the Imagination Station or choose to Walk & Talk. They want their own physical or mental space to wander in. We can encourage them to explore- within boundaries. Smaller games like Hot Shot Soccer or Bucketball can be “gateway” games to engage their Bodies- for those who shy away from group play and maybe cultivate their Spirit with one or 2 other students instead of a crowd.

Spirit: These students are the ones who protect others, seek justice or may be so “sensitive” they are scared to play games. They may encourage others to jump safely over the snakes in Jump Ropes & Hula Hoops or give adults regular updates on events they perceive to be of concern. We can support and encourage them to at least watch a kickball game and cheer on the players, to begin opening up their Bodies, if they aren’t comfortable enough to try it themselves yet. We can remind them (engaging their Minds) that the Playworks system lets us all play and have fun at a level we’re comfortable with. When nurtured, folks with high levels in Spirit can be the real cheerleaders of the strength in Playworks!!

Faith

This week, I’d like to highlight one concept: Faith.

A potential Pandora’s box, right? That’s not my intent. What I mean is this: for every day we open our eyes to the rising sun, I have the belief- the faith- that I can do something worthwhile.

And so can you.

I have no idea why my body, without any conscious effort on my part, takes that next inhale of breath. I have no idea when that rhythm will end for me, but for however long it does, I will do all that I can to live this life and to share my experiences and witness others’.

I don't have a complicated idea of the meaning to life. I've seen too many people mired down in bizarre details that they couldn't see or be what they so desperately wanted most. To me, it's enough to believe the world is amazing, to believe there's beauty in little things and to believe that loving is the best option. I know there are countless bad things. I choose to believe there are just as many, if not more, good ones.

We each have the power and responsibility to multiply the good.

Ghosts of Intentions

Ghosts of Intentions

Ghosts of intention and feelings float through our world. Long after we’ve moved on, if we’ve expressed something, its echo remains. Words, drawings, buildings, trinkets, advice- they remain and influence. Something. Somewhere. Someone.

The touch of our presence can be like the initial catalyst of a Rube Goldberg contraption: Ping. And then what? And then where? Convoluted roads, perhaps so convoluted that no one can even pick out that it was you. You right now. Doing...what?

Paying no heed to fame or fortune, expense or triviality- to simply do. To simply act. If we work from our genuine root, exploring our surroundings, taking it in and then constructing something to share beyond ourselves, cannot that be a perfect and beautiful legacy?

Changes

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...
(Turn and face the strange)

Changes, David Bowie

It’s 5 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon in August and I’ve spent almost the entire day writing. I wanted to take a break and this song popped into my head. So what do I do? I think of this blog and more words want to come out.

Summer 2016 is ticking to its close. Seasons are preparing to turn. Despite the heat, daylight is getting shorter and shorter every single day. Change. Change. Change.

I’ve had some good change over the summer: Lots of rest. A renewed drive to get in rhythm with my body’s idiosyncrasies by eating with intention and exercising regularly. A commitment to try for a family vacation to Florida next year. The establishment of this blog to publish some of my writing and a personal commitment to write consistently.

Change is strange because, by definition, it’s different. The initial gut lurch of anxiety at the get-go is natural. How we respond after that is what determines the net result. Some fears are justified and the change is not beneficial. Some change may be painful and not in the direction we intended but is positive in the long-run. Some changes don't seem to do much of anything and we end up seemingly no further along than when we first began. Regardless, let’s turn to that change and see what our future days will be.

It’s 6 o’clock now and I have dinner dishes waiting. Some things, alas, don’t change. ;-)

Hugs

When you work in a school, you're bound to meet students outside the building in your everyday living. There's always a thrill of excitement: Will they acknowledge you? Do you remember their names fast enough to matter? Does your shirt have a ketchup stain on it and is your hair brushed?

Yesterday, I ran into a pair of sisters at the grocery story. Wonderful girls- each with a smile that will brighten any kind of day. Sure enough, they beamed and said hi. The one sister took the extra step of opening her arms for a hug.

I'm not an automatic hugger. There are people and cultures who ALWAYS spread their arms wide for full embraces for those they meet. There are those who are the opposite- hugging is too intrusive or too intimate for use in public. For myself, I won't initiate a hug but if it's coming at me, I go with it.

So, we hug. It warms my heart. It reminds me of all the other times through the school year where we've connected, when maybe one of us was low or one was so excited about something that the moment turns to minutes as a day's story is retold. We both give and receive something.

Be open to the hug. Reach out to give one. You'll be a richer person for the experience.