I am hyena. Hear me laugh!
Yesterday I ran up against a certain unwillingness to play. Remember dodgeball back in school when you were picked last? And…um…and those other games? I don’t. Because I hardly played! When I did, I would often think people didn’t like me. I would think I was no good. I not only didn’t have a killer instinct, I didn’t have a baby one either.
But I did practice martial arts. For the skill of it.
And I surfed. I thought I was terrible.
I got good grades and went to a great school. But that was easy.
None of this helped my ability to compete, to fight for what I wanted, to take a stand. Would you have expected it to? Perhaps. You know what though? At the time, it wasn’t even a goal to be able to compete. Years later, I still hate the sales game even I was required to play at a top personal trainer in Boston. I wanted to focus on process, on engaging with clients, on the fun and learning of it all. Not the numbers, and certainly the pitting of trainer against trainer for numbers on a paper (or in a bank account) did not motivate me. It did the opposite.
Now is the time to sharpen my teeth. In choosing to focus on and work with pure interaction, games and play and toss me the ball are all the starting point. Then sensations like heart rate, heat, breath and fatigue get noticed, and emotions like “hey I’m gonna getcha!” make their way to consciousness. And it feels good. Good like I’m gonna hit ya. Good like the hyena is on its way to its prey. With its friends. And we’re all laughing a good time.
So when we focused on interaction today, Day 4! of UZAZU facilitator training, a new emergence of play played out. And it was playful. I was playful in ways I’m not usually. Laughs abounded and I pushed through boundaries of mind like scratchy rice-paper walls leaving me free and clear to be how I want. The only thing destroyed in my path is a self-restriction.
That’s super cool if you ask me.
You did ask, when you picked me!
What now? Ha ha ha! Wanna play?
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