The power of play

As Victor Frankl showed us, choosing to play with situations in our life that we find hard to deal with (for him it was the dehumanisation of being stripped and shorn for the gas chamber), can light us up like a lightbulb and make it impossible for energies like fear to control us. I love this stuff! And this is a particularly useful skill to master at these times of social unrest, economic pressure, diminishing resources and '2012 consciousness' – whatever that year may, or may not, bring!As 'laughter leader' Kit Hammond-Stapely memorably says, 'anything you can laugh at you can heal yourself of!' (she's not just talking illness here, but any life situation). And she can talk - she attributes her recovery from a five-year bout of 'terminal cancer' (she has now survived both of her oncologists) to the power of play and laughter. See Events page for workshops that Kit and I are running together this summer. You may also be interested in The Power of Play on August 14th.We can of course choose to take our sense of fun with us anywhere! I was recently invited to facilitate a debate at a Europe-wide conference in Hungary (considering these were senior leaders in the healthcare IT profession looking at ways to serve an increasingly elderly population at a time of economic pressure, a verrrrry serious affair!) I felt, 'in the moment' as it were, to introduce some 'innovative technology' of my own (tee hee!), which really changed the chemistry of the situation! Read a write-up here.