Play (in times of Urgency): Some Resources
George Washington Carver who came to mind while writing this. (Image credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture.)
With my wonky blog posts, poetic-ish poems, and all this talk about trying and failing, I figured it would be useful to explicitly name an ironic something that is trying to guide my life now: PLAY.
Recently I’ve been watching birds and butterflies and other insects and animals play even in the midst of the work and attentiveness that goes into their survival.
Amid the urgency brought by awareness of the many crises of the world, the death and destruction brought by systems and arms of oppression, and the pressing pulse that begs us to eek out new ways of living together, it has been necessary for me to call upon all parts of myself. Play is something that allows me to exercise new parts of myself and find freedom from being the producer-consumer I am pressured to be.
Instead of explaining how exactly that works, I’ll share a couple resources that make the connection between play and other facets of liberative movement.
A Playful Care Practice
I really love this playful care practice Session led by poet Ross Gay, as part of Open Edu hosted by Slow Factory.
Places to Practice Play with Others
Rooted Global Village
I have attended learning spaces by Rooted Global Village. Each one left a lasting imprint. They have a couple of play-centered programs right now. But even if those don’t work for you, I recommend engaging with them in any way you can.
https://www.rootedglobalvillage.com/through-the-kaleidoscope
https://www.rootedglobalvillage.com/edge-play
We Will Dance With Mountains
This is a course by Bayo Akomolafe that I have not attended, but hope to someday. I also immediately resonated with Bayo’s work when I found it. If you read enough of my writing you can probably see why. But in a nutshell, I find it playfully embraces mystery and many ways. You can search for his talks across the internets.
https://www.dancingwithmountains.com/
Oh, Also!
Last, but not least @blackforager whose playful (and very knowledgeable) posts have led me to lots of wonder and joy.
Also, from her posts I found out about a piece of plant literature by George Washington Carver called Nature’s Garden for Victory and Peace that I’d somehow not heard of.
This guide was published to assist people in identifying wild edibles amid food shortages caused by World War II.
I can’t help but think of the daily time stealing away to explore, delight in, and experiment with plants since he was a kid and how that led to his generosity of innovations in difficult times.
