Lowell, Massachusetts, October 2020
In many ways 2022 seems to have come around kind of fast. Bringing with it the usual bombardment of lists and how-to’s and suggestions for making lasting improvements and changes for the coming months. Articles abound as they outline “Tips and Tricks” for making and keeping New Years’ resolutions. Intention setting is popular. Vision Boards are big, as is choosing a Word of the Year. In past years I’ve actually tried choosing a Word of The Year, but I’d be hard pressed to tell you what some of the words were- which isn’t really a ringing endorsement for that approach. I guess it's a matter of finding what works for each of us.
However…as we find ourselves in the middle of the first month of 2022, there is a word that keeps popping up in my mind. It’s “Play.”
Here’s how it happened.
For some reason, over the last couple of weeks, every time I sit down to work on a project – any creative project - I’ve been feeling more than the usual self-inflicted pressure to produce something specific, or I worry that what I’m making isn’t good, or that nobody will like it….or whatever. I expect you know the drill. It’s like my inner critic made up some crazy new rules about creativity for 2022 – then just sat back to watch what would happen. With a sadistic, slightly self-satisfied smile on its face.
Well.
Luckily that’s when the word “Play” started showing up in my mind. Like a very helpful mental counterattack to the inner critic, and to all the pressure and external expectations that a New Year can usher in.
Focusing on Play instead of a specific project goal or outcome invariably opens up all sorts of possibilities, and takes me in directions I wouldn’t otherwise explore. Even after years and years of working on creative projects I have to keep reminding myself - over and over and over again - that art making is for me. Nobody else. Otherwise, it never really works.
Approaching creativity with a sense of Play is one way to help remember this. Whether your passion is photography, or painting, or writing, or guitar, or drawing with crayons – whatever it is - my wish for all of us this year is to just Play.