Thoughts on Creativity & Play…

By Reanna Roane, LCMHCA

Growing up, we are often told who is creative and who is not. As adults we publicly engage in forms of play that are deemed socially acceptable (such as sports or parties), or we outsource our play by watching professional artists and athletes. However, play never leaves us, and everyone has inherent creativity. Long before we had words, our nervous systems were already paying attention; learning what felt safe, what felt dangerous, and what helped us survive. Are you still alive? Congratulations, you are creative! This is because children learn through movement, sound, imagination, touch, rhythm, and connection. That wisdom of learning how to be in the world doesn’t disappear simply because we become adults.

 I believe the world we hope to build for future generations begins with creating within ourselves the world we needed as children. Play creates a space where our brains and nervous systems can soften their defenses just enough to experiment, imagine, learn, and transform. It offers a “safe enough” container to approach painful experiences with curiosity instead of fear. Rather than an escape from reality, creativity and play become ways of gently returning to ourselves.

Our bodies often remember what our cognitive minds cannot. Sometimes the parts of us carrying our oldest stories communicate in ways beyond verbal language. Rather than forcing those experiences into words, I believe we can meet them in the language they already speak and allow development to resume where it was interrupted.