The importance of play as a creative
“The opposite of play is not work - it’s depression”
This month’s post is something slightly different. A while back I was commissioned to write a small essay about the importance of play for creative processes for Our Collective Breath. I’m sharing an excerpt from that essay today which has been published in Issue 01 of the zine and is now available for pre-order! My work is featured among some other brilliant names and I urge you to check it out if you’re interested.
“The opposite of play is not work - it’s depression,” says Stuart Brown in his talk ‘Play is more than just fun’.
We think of play generally as something only for children; a nostalgic memory of days spent running free which sometimes leads to a sense of loss - a loss of identity, a loss of direction, or simply a confounding sense of loss of which we cannot find the cause.
Play is a crucial part of creativity, and one cannot happen without the other.
It’s proven to be essential for children, and it has just as much importance as an adult. It’s perhaps even more important right now when we spend so much of our time hunched over screens. The camera screen, the phone screen, the computer screen.
The way we used to play likely influenced how we came to be creatives and artists and storytellers – but the important thing to take away is that this continues to be true as we age in body and mind.
To play is to open up new worlds, to open yourself to new ideas, new possibilities, new thoughts. It offers the chance to experiment, to learn, and the chance to escape.
We know how important it is to feed our bodies, to feed it the right nutrients that will allow it to flourish and become stronger. We’re now becoming more aware of how important it is to care for our minds and to embrace our inner child.
It’s also about building the confidence to fail. Failure in a creative practice can be heartbreaking, but in play, quality is irrelevant and you’re truly free to try anything. The only one judging you is yourself.
End Notes
‘Play is more than just fun’ - Stuart Brown
Listening
Doing
A little about me
I’m a freelance writer based in London working with small businesses and brands in the creative and digital media sectors.
I enjoy telling stories about adventure, the outdoors, and I have a love for portrait and documentary photography.
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