When I was a kid, my sister and I would play pretend all the time. I loved those times because we didn’t have a care in the world. We didn’t have the responsibility of grown ups yet. The freedom to dream stuff up while we played brought about so much enjoyment. Then as we grew older our interests changed (obviously). I remember, too, as a kid, not wanting to grow up because it meant taking on responsibilities outside of being fun. I think many of you can relate. Then, when I did get older, I wanted those not so fun responsibilities. Why? Because it meant a whole different kind of fun. But the pretend didn’t go away. Not really. It changed course by coming in the form of story telling and poetry writing.

Writing fiction and creating poetry gave me that same playful satisfaction that playing pretend as a child had. But not everyone writes. We’re all different and, therefore, we enjoy different things. I have one friend who loves to fish and goes on fishing expeditions by himself. It’s a time for him to relax and regroup. Plus it gives that time to allow his mind to take in the beauty of where his is. If feeds his soul.

What is your pretend time? What is your enjoyment? If you don’t have anything that frees up your mind and body from the day’s stressors, find something. If you can’t figure out what that something is, try different things. For me, as mentioned above, it’s my writing.