by Emma Freeman

Play gently holds my hand

walking me into spaces of unknown wonder

of healing beauty

of mysterious resonance

Play helps me shed all of the layers of limitation I wear

and reveals to me again and again

that I am,

in fact,

always unfolding

Play reminds me that my deepest self needs her to come alive

that my soul's survival depends on it

Play shows me all of the boxes that I have been sold

as my truths are actually just containers of possibility

containers that can be broken down

and reconstructed into something entirely new

Play lets me breathe in ways that make me realize

I have been suffocating for so long

trying to be what I am not

but no knowing how to be what I am truly am

Play embodies light

sharing it openly and generously

making me move and respond in new ways

like she has cast a spell on me

but actually she is just reminding me of who I am

a playful spirit

After all,

isn’t that how we all come into this world?

Aren’t we all playful, curious creatures

until outside forces close in on us

shutting us down

so we stop playing and start behaving

so we stop imagining and start sleepwalking

so we grow up and become numbed versions of ourselves

who do as we are told?

Play is a radical act of love

an invitation to return to our deepest selves and say,

No, I am not done unfolding

No, I am not done becoming

No, I am not done imagining

No, I will not be what you want me to be

I will play

to continue to discover all that I truly am