….and My Story Runs On….

Have you ever had obvious signs from the Universe about a message that you just couldn’t ignore?  I mean, relentless things that just make you say “OK Universe, I get it!  I need to focus on _____ today”

Well, that happened to me yesterday.  I wanted to blog about it but the message was that intense that I couldn’t even get myself to do any work at all.  Why?  Because the message was:  

PLAY!

Before I share my personal story about how this transpired yesterday (which is probably way more fascinating to me and no one else, let me tell you why I felt compelled to share this first)

When is the last time that you played?  I’m not talking games or playground play but just truly listened to your heart and did something just because it made you feel like a kid again.

“Play is often described as a time when we feel most alive, yet we often take it for granted and may completely forget about it. But play isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Play is as important to our physical and mental health as getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising. Play teaches us how to manage and transform our “negative” emotions and experiences. It supercharges learning, helps us relieve stress, and connects us to others and the world around us. ” Source:  Play, Creativity and Lifelong Learning

So my main message to you is to GO PLAY!  We get so caught up in the our priorities, life, work and the stuff we have to do that we don’t allow our inner child to come out and play.  So I dare to you go for it!  If you don’t know how to play because it’s been so long, maybe these questions will help:

1. How do you like to play?
2. What are the activities that are fun and exciting for you? How do they make you feel? Perhaps there is something fun and exciting that you have been longing to try….
3. What do you enjoy doing so much that you lose track of time?

Now let go of your responsibilities (schedule play time if you have too) and make some time to play. Trust me, your mind, body and soul will thank you for it!

Now back to my story.  I consider myself a spiritual person so when I get message from the Universe, I get super excited, especially when I understand the message!

First of all, I have a natural tendency to feel guilty when I take too much time off work. This is still a struggle for me and even harder as a business owner.   I love what I do so much that work and play are almost synonymous.  I spent quite a bit of time with family and friends this weekend when I had a few projects that I really wanted to get done…..so I woke up on Sunday morning and decided to meditate…and this is when the signs started:

• I’m doing Deepak Chopra’s 21 Day Meditation Challenge and I’m a few days behind so I was catching up (by the way, I highly recommend these.  Meditation has changed my life!).  What was the message of that meditation?

• Then I decided last minute to go do a trail run with a friend.  I just signed up for my first Ultra and I need to start doing back to back runs on the weekend.  I ran 15 on Saturday and felt really good on Sunday so I hit the trails…this is when the “message” became clear:

1. Tried turning my GPS on to track mileage and it wouldn’t work. Battery was not dead but tried for 15 minutes and gave up..
2. Tried using my Charity Miles App to track mileage but for some reason, the app kept saying “looking for updates”….
3. My friend Tamika uses RunKeeper so she was going to track our mileage…..only when we got back to the car after the trail run, it only counted the first 15 minutes of our run….
4. so lo and behold, I guess I was not supposed to be concerned about my mileage but just needed to enjoy the run…this is when I realized the Universe was talking to me….

• I find trail running in itself very playful. It’s more technical but there is something so fun about it, especially when you are going down a nice hill….totally feel like a kid again!  One of my friends described downhills like being on a roller coaster….Trail running has for sure taught me to play more…
• Then I got home and for some crazy reason was craving a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich which I haven’t had in awhile and totally reminds me of being a kid…
• Other things happened throughout the day to reinforce this message but the very last thing, which was the icing on the cake was an episode of Criminal Minds.  We were watching a few reruns from the website and the last words in that last episode I watched were “Let’s Play”.  I couldn’t believe it!

So for those of you that are “open” to these message from the Universe (or God, or your Higher Self, etc), my advice is to pay attention and honor the message.  I’m so glad I did because I had a fabulous day (and weekend) because I allowed myself to play.

Regardless, take the time or make the time to add some PLAY into your life…it’s amazing how much your soul will appreciate it!

So how do you like to play?  What play time will you schedule this week?

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)