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Key points
- Play is necessary to broaden our curiousity and connect with the sublime parts of life.
- Play nurtures authentic ways of showing up for ourselves and each other.
- Playing outside supports future generations in having a personal connection to nature.
Co-authored with Ann Bayly-Bruneel
When’s the last time you heard someone say, "Go outside and play"?
For many of us raised in the 20th century, this simple phrase was an open invitation to explore nature, traverse the outdoors, follow one’s curiosity, connect with others, and embrace the moment with a sense of intuitive, wild adventure. It was also a way for adults to navigate needing their own time, space, and refuge. Yet, today, many adults in the Western world have lost their sense of play and spontaneity. Some children are increasingly alienated from the great outdoors—taught instead to fear their neighbour and stay away from the unknown or less certain aspects of life.
Becoming reliant on information provided to us rather than discovering our own liberatory experiences stifles our imaginations and capacities to be co-creators and innovators of our own lives. While this may seem inconsequential, the absence of imagination and play replicates the same rigid, limited, and narrowly constructed paradigms we see in our world. Learning to play and being nurtured in our instincts allows us to colour outside of the lines and shift restrictive ideologies that don’t serve our humanity.
The Restorative Power of Play in Nature
Our physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being is intertwined with nature. Like nature, our bodies and nervous systems have natural rhythms and harmonies that are integral to our functioning; yet, sadly, we as a species are growing more and more disconnected from them. Spending time outside isn't just about fun; it's essential for our co-evolution, growth, healing, and overall human development.
Outdoor play fosters sensorimotor skill development, builds confidence, and nurtures psychological independence. Exploring the outdoors also helps develop a deeper relationship with our own feelings, bodies, and instinctual nature, as we experience a variety of novel sensations that guide us in our quest for knowledge and wonder. When we play outside, we become reconnected with a sense of aliveness, and flow and are more enchanted with everyday life.
Play offers unbridled and uncensored enthusiasm, and play supports the deepening of laughter and solidarity with our multidimensional playmates. This type of joining supports a widening of collaboration and interconnectedness that can enhance relationships and broaden creative activism and intentional support.
When we are playing, we live fully in the moment; dancing, laughing, loving, sharing, and wholeheartedly living. Play teaches us the value of fun, pleasure, and adventure. It is valid to amuse ourselves simply because we want to. The sole purpose of life isn’t to check off tasks or accomplishments every moment but, rather, to focus on the experience of living with the precious time we have on this Earth.
Neglect and Trauma Prevent Play
One of the most telling impacts of neglect and trauma is a person’s lack of capacity to be receptive, flexible, and responsive to their world. When we are confronted with chronic states of hypervigilance, overwhelm, psychological neglect, or lack of attunement and care, we become more disconnected from our psycho-biological instinct to play and explore. Instead of being creative or engaging in the spontaneity of movement and play, we become more entrenched in survival patterns and adaptive responses that are wired to keep us safe from harm.
For many, the fear of judgment, embarrassment, or shame inhibits their willingness to play. This reflects a psychological and cultural conditioning that prioritizes others’ opinions over authenticity and joy. Intergenerational cycles often perpetuate this disconnection, as adults disconnected from their own need for play may unconsciously suppress their children’s creativity and imagination. Such shutdowns stifle not only self-expression but also opportunities for natural, collaborative problem-solving.
Play Is Good for Everyone
Play supports healthy ego development, as we learn life isn’t all about us, and we learn to find common ground with others even when we disagree. When we play with others, we engage in perspective-taking and emotional attunement. Misunderstandings are often tended to in a nonthreatening, collaborative way by the group, and trust can be rebuilt after moments of relational rupture.
Play and imagination are not frivolous; they are vital ways to foster self-agency and conflict resolution and allow for deeper experiences of democratic collaboration. By reclaiming our embodied connection to play, we transcend outdated notions of competition and psychologically open ourselves to the transformative power of shared creativity. Play allows us to break free from rigid zero-sum mentalities that pit people against each other and instead cultivate a sense of collective engagement, as play invites us to develop empathy, compassion, and trust in others.
Creating a culture of play and engaging in unstructured play is integral in terms of rewilding ourselves, allowing us to psychologically reclaim a more harmonious relationship with the world around us and to truly feel our sense of belonging. This is more important than ever in the face of the ongoing climate breakdown, human rights violations, economic crises, and the rise of social and ecological disconnection. Play can help spark creative collaboration and a sense of innovation, which will be essential to addressing the challenges of our collective times.
Additionally, supporting children in forming meaningful connections with the lands they reside upon through play can inspire a deeper respect for cultural or indigenous wisdoms and the land we call home. Play can help reduce pollution, facilitate conservation efforts, and support environmental justice by allowing future generations to have an active personal connection to the great outdoors. By embracing the outdoors, we nurture both a love for our planet and the responsibility to protect it, thereby empowering a brighter future.
Reclaim the Joy of Play
Play is a wildly fun and restorative way to rediscover spontaneity, awe, and inner freedom. Imagination transforms us, reminding us of what it means to be fully alive and what is infinitely possible.
In conclusion, play connects us—to ourselves, to one another, and to the Earth we call home. The Earth is calling, inviting us to rediscover the joy of reconnecting to the world we belong to.
We invite you to step outside, play, and feel the pulse of life anew and to ignite the spark of play that lives deep inside of you!
This article was co-authored by Mark Shelvock and Ann Bayly-Bruneel. Ann is a registered psychotherapist, art therapist, and somatic experiencing practitioner. Ann has worked in the field of mental health, addiction, and trauma for more than 20 years. Ann and Mark both actively facilitate trauma-responsive psychotherapy in Ontario, Canada.
