How many times do you remember adults saying to you,” don’t be so silly or “oh you are too silly for words!”?
Even as a parent now the phrase has left my lips so easily….”oh grow up, stop being so silly!” aimed at my own children, trying on occasion to make them toe the line and act more responsibly. How silly is that!
Yes, I do realise that children need to learn how to behave and there is a time and place for adhering to moral and social codes of conduct, but after all, they are children.
I remember my eldest son, at age 5, dancing round the landing in his underpants, waiting for his bath to be run, singing at the top of his voice which after a day’s work was rather loud and piercing to say the least! When I tried to get him to pipe down a bit I will always remember his answer;
“I can’t help it, my body’s so full of joy.”
Joy is inexplicable and can come upon us at any given moment, even as adults, if we stay open and playful.
Robert Holden, who set up the Laughter Clinics for the NHS in the 1990’s, says:-
“Being silly is not silly; being silly is a first step to being free.”
Playing the fool, taking risks on looking foolish and ridiculous allows us to express our ‘inner child’ and be young again. The friends we can laugh with are the friends who have seen us at our most silliest, our most unashamedly childish, and the friends who give us the unspoken permission to let go and have fun.
So how much do you play currently in your life? How much joy are you allowing in?
If you have children or a pet in your vicinity then it is easy for their infectious playfulness to rub off, if not here are some ideas for pure silliness:-
- Pull mad faces, at friends, neighbours, work colleagues
- Dance, even if it’s on your own or in the precinct, the more outrageous moves the better
- Sing, at the top of your voice to your favourite songs, if you are out of tune it’s just funnier
- Do something different, use a different voice, walk in a different way, dare yourself to try something new
- Smile for no reason at all at people around you , they will wonder what you are up to and they will smile back
- Draw silly pictures that make you smile or wear something ridiculous
- Be as childish as possible at every opportunity
- Look for joy in everyday happenings
More than anything, we NEVER need to grow up and stop being silly, as the saying goes;
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing”. (Anon)
