How to Bring Whimsy Into Your Life
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How to cope when life doesn’t always go your way
Life often feels like an exaggerated game of whack-a-mole, where one area feels completely stable and grounded while another is a complete shitstorm. For instance, I have one child thriving at school this year, with teachers commending his tremendous growth and maturity, while the other is biting kids in the classroom. With one kid, I feel proud and like a great parent; with the other, I feel like a complete failure.
My husband recently ran the Grand Rapids Marathon, finishing in an impressive 4 hours and 14 minutes—an amazing feat for a first-timer who could barely train the last month due to knee pain. It was inspiring and motivational, and I could cry just thinking about how proud I am of him. Meanwhile, my own health had me at urgent care this week due to heartburn so severe that I felt like I was having a heart attack. I'm constantly reminded of my sensitive digestive system and need to remember that burgers, fries, and half a bottle of wine on an empty stomach aren't always the best option, especially when they lead to difficulty swallowing real food. This week has been annoying, leaving me feeling weak and out of sorts. Whack-a-mole.
There's always something. Our homes can be peaceful and stable while the world is in complete disarray—a feeling that seems more chronic than acute lately.
Whimsy Is Our Resistance
Amidst the protests in Portland and around the country, I've been inspired by the idea of using whimsy as resistance, bringing more joy, play, and laughter to address the heaviness and stress in our day-to-day lives and global events. Last week, our team participated in a workshop facilitated by Lost Voices, a nonprofit providing music therapy to at-risk children and teens victimized by trafficking and other horrible situations. A week-long program costs $10,000, but it is life-changing for these kids. We are honored to have selected Lost Voices as our holiday philanthropy and will match the community donations we receive on their behalf. These kids' lives matter, and they deserve the attention, love, and camaraderie that Lost Voices provides.
Example #1: Laughing, singing, and dancing during a team workshop
When the nonprofit's founder, Mike Ball, spoke to our group last week, it was incredibly joyous. There was even a moment when I felt uncomfortable with how much our team was laughing, dancing, and being silly, but then I realized – we need this. We need to laugh, let go, be loud and rambunctious. Our work is hard. Our clients' lives are challenging and heavy, and we hold space for them hour after hour, day after day, week after week. Being a therapist is a privilege, as is holding space and helping others, but it's not without an energetic and emotional drain. We, too, have to take care of ourselves when we're also playing whack-a-mole, even with our clientele. And so, joy, play, whimsy.
Example #2: Getting silly with filters during an online meeting
Another example occurred this week during our leadership team's quarterly virtual meeting. Instead of the usual two-hour drone-on with everyone sitting in their online squares, we all applied filters. I'll show you the picture below. What a gift to laugh until we cried during a meeting that, while important, doesn't have to be so serious.
Reset leadership applies silly filters during a quarterly meeting, evoking joy and laughter among the team.
A few teachers in my life have reminded me not to take everything too seriously. I have to be actively reminded to pause, play, and reconnect with whimsy.
Example #3: Cultivating a whimsical workspace/home office
This month, in an effort to do so, I finally moved from the foot of our guest bedroom and claimed an entire room as my own home office. After concluding that my 5-year-old son enjoyed a smaller room, I relished having a space to call my own. And it has whimsy. I've collected so much art over the years, even framing my vision board from 18 years ago (which, ironically, is still spot-on, despite being created while I was working for a financial advisory company!). I have trinkets and fun colors, and it brings me so much joy.
Opportunities to Get Whimsical Are All Around Us
As we've wrapped up our creative expression quarterly learnings at Reset, I am finding whimsy and the practice of whimsy as another way to express myself. Whether it's through flowy, beautiful patterns of clothes, hilarious Halloween costumes, cultivating my overgrown fairy garden in the backyard, talking to the bees that land on my hand like I'm a bee-whisperer, finding ombre leaves and arranging them for the next walker in the woods, crafting crappy first draft poems, or informing my pup of her responsibilities each time I leave the house. There is a post that's been circulating on social media for almost a year that is sweet, hilarious, and inspirational, asking people to share their fanciful habits.
I feel we need it—we need laughter, play, and light-heartedness. We CAN enjoy this life even in serious moments. Little rituals that make it all feel a bit more whimsical. Smile at the moon, greet the sun, talk to the spiders and squirrels. Because why not? If it makes us feel better, why not engage in more play, goofiness, and cathartic joy? Let it be our resistance.
Can you share your joy and playful practices with us? Please tag @resetbrainandbody on social media so we can share your practices with more people for inspiration and encouragement.
Support for Your Mental Health
At Reset Brain and Body, we support clients through foundational and holistic wellness, nervous system regulation, and more. If this resonates with you, you’re not alone. Our team is here to walk with you—through the overwhelm and into presence.
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Conscious Transparency: This newsletter was edited by AI for grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, but every idea, tone of voice, perspective, and word choice was my own. This newsletter is imperfect because a human wrote it. Thank you for your graciousness.
This week’s Tools, Gratitude, Innovation, Feels
Tools: Painting, pottery, singing, poetry, writing, dancing - these are not activities reserved for preschoolers. In fact, it’s imperative to incorporate creativity and expression into our daily lives to take care of our mental health. Stop scrolling, and start creating.
Gratitude: I met an eco-poet at the Gateway Farms workshop two weekends ago, and she really inspired the group to try our hands at poetry. I was among the people who, growing up, were taught that poetry needed rigid structure and rules. Yet, thankfully, Jacqueline allowed us to be free and flowing in our words. It’s now been my favorite morning ritual.
Innovation: At our Farmington ribbon-cutting celebration last week, a wonderful chamber officer told me that, “Focus on the good, and good things grow,” is a saying on her favorite shirt. Well, I quickly took that line, crafted it into a creative desktop wallpaper, and slapped it on my background. Things aren’t good by accident. We have to notice the good, celebrate the good, and turn our mindset to an attitude of gratitude. It truly shapes everything.
Feels: We don’t have much control in our lives, but we can, through mindful practices, intentionality, and awareness, drop into the present moment. In the present moment, we are always here, alive, and safe. Yes, even now- right now, you are okay. And now, and now, and now… See, without the noise of what’s occurred or what is about to occur, the present moment is a gift. In that moment, we can direct our attention to gratitude, goodness, and joy.