Play on Purpose

My theme for the year is play. I am manifesting, prayers are being answered, the universe is responding.

Elle Bottrell
December 04, 2024

Beloveds!

My theme for the year is play. I don't think I've yet shared that news with you, which is a curiosity in itself.

I am manifesting, prayers are being answered, the universe is responding. As the year comes to a close my word, my theme, for the year isn't winding down, instead it's winding up.

First there was clown school, which I shared with you last week and now: PLAY ON PURPOSE. My wonderful connection with Dex Ereon, who was on The LYHL Podcast in early October, has flourished and taken us squarely into play.

(If you haven’t yet listened to Dex’s episode, I recommend a listen!)

Today was our inaugural "Play on Purpose" pop-up on Instagram. It was won.der.ful!

We were so delighted to be together, so excited to interact in this new-to-us medium, and ecstatic to be sharing our discovery with the broader community.

An encouraging component is how organic this is for us. Play on Purpose is something that Dex first explored 5 years ago, before it went dormant, to only rise again in this season. For me, it's coming from my own natural journey of integrated living. Then together, we are beholding what emerges as we show up in authentic & vulnerable relationship. (Yes, play requires vulnerability, which is why many of us lose access to it.)

In today's playtime, we delved into poetry - writing for 10 minutes using prompts that we provided each other and then sharing the results.

I gave Dex the prompts: alligator, lollipop, and giddy dance.

He offered me: seasons, breathe, and light.

Here is what I came up with:

Colourful skies of first

morning light invite me

to a new day.

I breath deeply the

late autumn air

brisk & invigorating.

Pastels paint the air

with the magic of the morning.

Mornings like this I’m

tempted to stay inside

wrapped in warm blankets,

but seasons come & go &

are to be experienced -

to be felt,

to be known.

Each sunrise unique,

just like each of us.

Will you breathe deeply

the light of love

that each season offers?

// Morning Offering

Dex's poem was playfully awesome. I gave it a 10/10 rating. How could I not? It utilized rhyme and referenced poppin' & lockin', as well as, see you later alligatoring and brought in all the prompts.

Play is so important - so important that perhaps we should make sure to play on purpose!

Interested to check out “Play on Purpose?” The hour-long recording is available on my @Dr.LYHL instagram account.

The next Play on Purpose will be Monday 12/16 11:30am-12:30pm PST, on IG Live - either via Dex: @gobeyond.love or @dr.lyhl. (Each time we will dive into different ways to play and, let me tell you, we have some fun, creative, and wild ideas to pursue!)

——-

Questions for Contemplation:

How do you play?
How do you connect to your inner child?
What are some ways that you could bring in new play into your life?
Who are your play mentors?

May you always see the blessing, beloveds.

-esb

Community Corner:

J.W., one of our LYHL community members, was in the audience of “Play on Purpose” and used a mishmash of the prompts writing about how December was a time to enjoy lollipops and put away the flipflops. (Sorry I’m not doing it justice, but it was joyful. I don’t have the text to directly quote!)

She found the P.O.P. experience a “warm, welcoming presence.”

“The invitation was to just be yourself and not have to do it ‘the right way.’ It made it easier to participate.”

Thanks, J.W., hope you can make the next one too!

P.S. - Thanks for being here. I’d love to hear how you’re doing!

P.P.S. - All the art in these newsletters is mine, unless otherwise specified.

P.P.P.S. - If you're interested in creating a yearly theme or would like to invest in your established process of a word or theme for the year, I'd love for you to save the dates for January 2025 New Year's Theme contemplative retreats that I'll be hosting (in-person and on-line options available). These are one of my favorite projects I've ever done. It would be splendid to have you there. Email: [email protected] to get on the email list.