Blue hair, bare feet, and the joy of not growing up
At 36 years old, I am still regularly asked for ID when trying to purchase a bottle of my favourite Shiraz-Viognier at the local supermarket. This isn’t a brag – more than once, I’ve smiled at the request, only to be told “Not to worry, actually”. My wrinkles, you see, are suddenly very visible and the mistake is realised.
I have blue hair and silly tattoos. I shy away from the structured and mute toned ‘adult attire’ of many of my fellow millennials, opting instead for rose-pink sunglasses, crochet capes and clashing patterns.
Aside from my aesthetic however, I think I am more often mistaken as younger than my years because of how I play. When the moon is full I howl, when it rains I splash barefoot in the puddles, when a song in my headphones hits just right, I dance as I walk along a public street.
When the desire to jump in te awa (the river) takes hold, I jump in, regardless of whether I’m carrying togs or towel, and when the autumn leaves have fallen and gathered, I lie down on the earth tossing them about for the simple joy of it. I don’t care what you think of me.
You may be familiar, dear reader, with the famous quote from Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” I, for one, believe it.
For over a decade, I have written and presented programmes for the early education sector in Aotearoa and Australia. In this work, I have experienced first-hand the benefit of child-led and play-based learning.
When tamariki (children) are given permission to play in their learning space, the cognitive benefits, social emotional regulation, and language development are expansive. As an artist, I have found the more I engage authentically in play-based learning alongside or inspired by tamariki, the more comprehensively and authentically I engage with my art and my everyday world.
I have written previously about the necessity of the artist and so quote author Roger von Oech, “Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.”
There is something untouchable in the release experienced when I give myself permission to play and working with children continues to remind me to embrace my inner child in all areas of life. I have received the purest compliments and the most devastating insults from a child and working alongside tamariki has definitely unlocked in my art, an egolessness and an ability when performing to be here, now.
Deep grief is another experience through which I’ve learned the importance of play. My art is so informed by my emotional state, as I’m sure many readers will relate to. In grief, there is a place I’ve come to multiple times where I realise I’ve neglected play, so I push myself to create something or action something playful, dark often, accompanied by sobbing maybe, but playful nonetheless.
A throw-paint-at-a-door-angrily exercise, or getting mucky in rain-drenched sand, or perhaps a lonely somatic dance shaking out all the shapes of my grief.
The poet Diane Ackerman said, “Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning”, so in joy or sadness I uphold a sense of playfulness in my everyday life and well, dear readers, I highly recommend it.
Let’s give ourselves permission, amidst the responsibility of serious adult existence, to release social expectation, give no f*#ks and feed your inner artist with exploration, experimentation and maybe, next time you see a blue-haired madwoman throwing autumn leaves about at the park, go join her.
I run interactive storytelling sessions for children and whānau in Waihi and surrounds. These are play-based educational programmes designed to be intergenerationally interactive. Find me here and touch base for party event or session info: https://www.instagram.com/little_raconteurs
Words by Milly Moon
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