Personal boundaries begin at birth.
From the age of 0-7, we are establishing our physical boundaries. During this time, we learn to trust our physical body. The body eats, it gets tired, it gets scrapes or gets sick and it heals.
At the same time, we learn to trust the physical world around us. A rock is hard, water is wet, fire is hot, slides are fast, stairs are tall, sand feels funny. We bite, we put trash in our mouth, we lick furniture while gliding across the floors as we learn to walk. This is how we build trust in our world.
We build a connection to our physical world around us through touch and play.
When our play is interrupted during this critical phase, our childhood foundation is disrupted, or wounded, preventing us from evolving into an integrated adult. We don’t trust our body, we don’t trust people, and we don’t trust that the world is safe. All because we didn’t get to play.
If our parents missed this critical part of play, or their parents missed this part of play, then it too will be missing from our foundation unless we were able to live uninterrupted through play. It will become a genetic fear programmed into our children. There is no greater priority for children.
What if you feel you are an adult who has not integrated fully around this phase?
It would show in the physical form as carrying extra weight or fear of going outside or being social. It could be unnecessary dependance on pharmaceuticals, alcohol, or other stimulants from lack of trust in your own ability to recover or heal.
Only you can remember what influenced this part of your life that impacted its foundational growth. But when you meet your inner child and connect with her longing to live free from fear, you can invite her back to play. Play in the physical world, with your physical body. Play through dance and song, art and dress up. Let the seriousness soften.
We’ve evolved through quite a lot over the past couple of years and I would take a guess at many not feeling in a mood to play. We made adjustments with our work, home and school life to pivot as needed to keep the feeling of safety in mind. It was strategic. For some, these were the moments when we leaned on our own intuitive knowing the most - to vaccinate or not, to homeschool (or not), to go outside.
In the grande scheme, this is the time period of evolution, from our individual survival and fear, to the leap into what is called a synarchy (“we all lead together”) via our emotional intelligence. We will feel our intelligence within our body, more specifically, in our heart. We will connect with synchronistic people to create something bigger than ourselves and we will pull all others along who are in alignment so ensure humanity thrives. This isn’t a far off tale Over the Rainbow, this is the energy of our evolution.
The homework this past year, has been in discerning what ideas, beliefs, systems and structures have longevity for all. It’s certainly not transfers of wealth through the likes of Amazon, practices like separating children from parents at the borders, or unchecked authority figures. The ask for the remainder of the year, is to remove yourself from the people, places and practices that are no longer in alignment with your nervous system, creative vision and truth.
Instead of seeing these adjustments as bad, consider these decisions as intentional room to receive. Out with the old, in with the new. We don’t need to hold on to the past any more, but we can nurture the gaps of our past with play.
Play until your nervous system remembers you are strong and capable. Play until you remember you are a treasure. Play until the pressure falls off your back, where you don’t have to be responsible for everyone else because you believe in their highest good and path of awakening. Play so that every child in your life can see you modeling a world that is thriving.
“It’s time to be uncompromising in caring, in loving, in playing, in refusing to continue to participate in a world that denies truth what humanity is capable of.” - Kim Gould