“Play is always a matter of context. It is not what we do, but how we do it. Play cannot be defined, because in play all definitions slither, dance, combine, break apart, and recombine.”

-Stephen Nachmanovitch

Through play, we engage in spontaneous exploration and experimentation. This fosters cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills. Current scientific research suggests that playfulness stimulates the brain's reward pathways, promoting emotional well-being and resilience to stress. Furthermore, playfulness encourages social bonding, develops communication skills, and enhances interpersonal relationships. By embracing a playful mindset, we cultivate a sense of wonder and openness to new possibilities, enriching our lives with spontaneity, creativity, and a deeper appreciation for the beauty of existence.

“Entering the creative process with a sprit of play reduces the possibility of being overly concerned with [creating a] product. We don’t need to be serious as we create. In fact, being childlike or free-spirited is an asset.”

-Natalie Rogers

“Every good idea and all creative work are the offspring of the imagination, and have their source in what one is pleased to call infantile fantasy. Not the artist alone, but every creative individual whatsoever owes all that is greatest in his life to fantasy. The dynamic principle of fantasy is play, a characteristic also of the child, and as such it appears inconsistent with the principle of serious work. But without this playing with fantasy no creative work has yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable.”

-Carl Jung

We can define existential joy as a profound, but often fleeting, state of being in which we stand in awe at the strangeness of existence. It involves an emotional understanding that the struggles and complexities of human experience contribute to its richness and depth…even when it hurts.

Existential Joy can be cultivated by embracing uncertainty, following our curiosities, and acknowledging our interconnectedness with one another. To be existentially joyful means to be satisfied and energized by the terrifying possibility that life might be the answer to its own question…or some paradoxical nonsense along those lines. You’ll know it when you feel it. ☺