A lesson from Peter Pan
Coming to you from Neverland…
Never grow up.
When I grew up, I forgot how to have fun. It’s true. A real boohoo tragedy. I spent years trying to have fun with painting occasionally, or doing the odd craft. But I always stopped or ruined it for myself because in the back of my mind, I was trying to do more. I was always trying to convince myself that I was A) saving money or B) I could sell it to make money. Everything had a price. A worth. And if whatever-I-was-doing never became much of anything, then I was tormented that I had ‘wasted’ my time. So I rarely got close to having any sort of fun, and I struggled to have fun for the sake of having fun.
Why was my time so precious? But more importantly, why had my time become a commodity? Why couldn’t I break away from it?
In the past few years, I noticed a trend, some magic. On the occasion where I was having fun, I became more energised, happier, and my cup filled up. Time suddenly expanded. I had the energy to do more things. To feel peace.
There was a secret here, and I wanted to maximise it. This could be a game changer.
Every year, inspired by the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, I choose a one word theme. But I actually landed on my word for 2022 early. In November.
FUN
And then I thought, why wait until the new year? I should start now.
But I had no idea where to start. So I downloaded the ‘The Power of Fun’ by Dave Crenshaw.
Dave talks about living life like a desert – always trying to reach the ‘oasis’ and suffering the desert to get there. It resonated with me. I do this with everything, including my writing. I give myself huge expectations and suffer the whole way until it’s done. And there is no oasis, because usually I have put myself into another desert for something else.
But our whole lives can be one long oasis, if we want it to be. Dave gives some great tips on how to go about doing that.
So this was going to be my goal. At work, in my writing life, with my family, I was going to have more fun. Type 1 fun. Belly-laughing fun.
This would be the age of plenty, the age of expansion, the time for creation. Already, I was excited. Fun was my priority. Permission had been granted.
So join me on this journey to have more fun in your writing life. I’ll be sharing fun prompts, recommending books, sharing ideas and the inevitable struggle to give myself permission (or find the time) to have fun.
It’s time to have some fun!
FJ Morris 