Sprites are playful, mischievous nature spirits with magical powers. They are one of the most creative spirits in the fairy kingdom, and can often be found writing poems or painting.

In the autumn they carry tins of brightly coloured red, orange and yellow paint, which they use to change the colour of leaves. They then shake tree branches to make the leaves fall to the ground.

Sprites have lots of excess energy, and they like to play with nymphs or tease butterflies.

Sprites are made of the element water, so they are only found in places that are serene and cool. In the springtime sunshine, sprites like to dance on moving water, making little rainbows.

During storms, sprites can cause lightening to strike or create problems with electricity.

Famous sprites include Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Tinkerbell from Peter Pan.

Their name is derived from the Latin word for spirit, spiritus.  The English word sprightly, meaning lively or spirited, comes from the word sprite.

Sprites are usually friendly to human beings, and can bring unexpected good fortune.

Playful Miniguides: A semi-regular series of simple guides to the art of playful living.

Choose a Pen

Pick a doodle pen or pencil. Give it a special home so you’ll know where to find it when you want to doodle.

Find some paper

Respect your inner creativity by choosing paper that’s special for you. You might like to set aside a notebook for doodles & drawings, or you may prefer to find random scraps of paper. Train tickets rouse feelings of journey and adventure, whilst instruction manuals conjure up your inventive self.

Make a drawing space

This can be anywhere – on the bus, in the park, in front of your TV, even in class. Doodling activates the creative side of your brain, helping you absorb ideas and see connections in what you’re learning.

Draw

Put pen to paper. It’s as simple as that. Doodle whatever comes to mind, or better still, release your unconscious and draw without thinking. Give your pen complete freedom to reflect your thoughts and your feelings.

Interpret

Look up what doodles reveal about your inner self. Doodles can unveil unreleased idea, moods, and dreams.

Learn

Redefine your doodling habit by learning some new doodles. If certain doodle shapes are related to a mood you want to evoke, try learning those.

Get creative

Doodles can be used as a memory tool, to connect ideas, and to resolve problems.

Memory

When learning a new thing, as well as taking written notes, draw doodles related to what you’re learning. When you go back over your notes, the doodle will provoke your memory.

Connect

Doodle mind maps and diagrams. These doodles include both words and pictures.

Conflict

Instead of arguing over disagreements, try doodling how you see the situation. Again, include words and pictures. This helps you see the conflict in a new way, and turns it into a catalyst of creativity.

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Life is a lot like jazz: it’s best when you improvise.
~ George Gershwin

1. Bobby Hutcherson: Let go of the Control Panel

‘The whole thing of being in music is not to control it but to be swept away by it. If you’re swept away by it you can’t wait to do it again and the same magical moments always come.’

2. Don Pullen: Use What You’ve Got

‘All the music you’ve ever heard in your life is somewhere in your head. I don’t reject that, I use it.’

3. Miles Davis: Have the Patience to Become Yourself

‘Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.’

4. Carla Bley: Perfect is Boring

‘What’s interesting about a person without problems?’

5. Ed Thigpen: Share Your Gifts

‘Musicians should never forget that we’re blessed. We have a special gift that people can enjoy through us. We’ve had the good fortune to receive this and pass it along to others.’

6. Paul Whiteman: Remember the Past

‘Jazz came to America three hundred years ago in chains.’

7. Thelonius Monk: Freedom = Structure + Improvisation

‘Jazz is freedom. You think about that.’

8. Paul Desmond: Be Grateful for Family

‘I would also like to thank my father who discouraged me from playing the violin at an early age.’

9. Billy Taylor: Learn from Others

‘The thing that is making jazz healthy today is that people are coming out of other backgrounds – from rock, folk, from ethnic music. It’s changing the music, and for the better.’

10. Aaron Copland: Life’s Meaning is Found Through Living

‘The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking ‘Is there a meaning to music?’ My answer would be, ‘Yes’, And ‘Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?’ My answer to that would be ‘No.”

11. Art Blakey: Take Regular Showers

‘Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.’

12. Bix Beiderbecke: Celebrate the Unexpected

‘One thing I like about jazz, kid, is that I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Do you?’

13. Miles Davis: Failure is Not An Option

‘Do not fear mistakes, there are none.’

14. Louis Armstrong: Go One Step Further

‘We all do ‘do, re, mi,’ but you have got to find the other notes yourself.’

15. Charlie Haden:  Give Time to your Spiritual Side

‘In the midst of creating, a person is raised to another level of consciousness that doesn’t have that much to do with everyday thinking. It’s as if you could imagine life before there were words.’

16. Oscar Peterson: Recognise your Interdependence

‘It’s the group sound that’s important, even when you’re playing a solo. You not only have to know your own instrument, you must know the others and how to back them up at all times. That’s jazz.’

17. Earl Hines: Take Pride in your Appearance

‘You may have holes in your shoes, but don’t let the people out front know it. Shine the tops.’

18. Joe Venuti: Fail With Style

‘If you’re going to make a mistake, make it loud so everybody else sounds wrong.’

19. Benny Green: Be a Clown

‘A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges.’

20. Paul Desmond: Be Beautiful, Original, and Sincere

‘The qualities in music which I considered most important — and still do — were beauty, simplicity, originality, discrimination, and sincerity.’

21. Thelonious Monk: Words aren’t Everything

‘Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.’

22. Dizzy Gillespie: Keep Learning Everyday

‘It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.’

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‘He was very inquisitive; always asking random questions about random things.’

Brett Bailey

If life feels the same everyday and you’re looking for something new, it’s time to add the spice of randomness into the mix of your life.

The Randomness Philosopher

Philosopher of randomness and precocious entrepreneur Ben Casnocha explains why moments of spontaneous randomness can end up being the most creative and productive of all:

‘The randomness philosophy is based on the difficulty of predicting which projects will ultimately be most successful. Sometimes it’s the random projects that turn out to be most important. We ought to expose ourselves to randomness. We should proactively generate opportunities that might seem random…because who knows?’

Unlocking Creativity; Confronting Fear

Being deliberately random opens your life up to new possibilities and opportunities; it opens up your soul to the creative energy submerged within you. Being creative is scary, so if being random seems frightening, it’s all the more reason to try it.

The 7 Acts of Randomness

1. Use a random pen
The new feel of the pen between your fingertips, the strangeness of different coloured ink, the sweep of the nib across the page – these could all be the thing to generate the creative spark you’re looking for.

2. Sign up to a random blog
Click through an inspriring comment on your favourite blog. At the new blog, find another comment you like, and click again. Then once more. With the luck of randomness, you’ll be on a blog that you’ve never read before. Sign up for a week or two, and spend time engaging with the different ideas fed direct to your RSS reader.

3. Write on a random piece of paper
This could be your used train ticket, the receipt from your groceries, the back of that holiday postcard for Grandma you never got round to sending. Fill it to bursting point with new and exciting ideas.

4. Generate a random word
And use it to write a sentence. About fish. Even though I’m vegetarian, I sometimes crave tunafish for tea. (To clarify, you don’t have to write about fish. My random word was fish. My second random word was clarify. Enough for one day, methinks).

5. If you’re a writer, paint a picture. If you’re a painter, write a story
If you’re neither of these, set aside a weekend to try both.

6. Read a random book completely outside your field of expertise
There’s a secret here: don’t choose an utterly random book. Find a book you like the look of, but on a subject you’ve never read before. If you’re a scientist, maybe try a historical biography. Artists, look at introductions to chaos theory or quantom physics. Business people, what about a book on political anarchism? Libraries are great for this experiment because they’re entirely cost free.

7. Speak to a random stranger
I’ve done this a few times in my life, and the wonderful thing is, most people love to have a good natter with someone they’ve never met before. Trains and buses are two of the best places for random conversations. (A word of warning: don’t try this with businessmen absorbed in a laptop, BlackBerry device, or sophisticated statistical report. They are entirely unappreciative).

And Now It’s Your Turn

Please share other useful and non-useful acts of randomness in the comments.

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If you like random words such as jejune, adumbrate, and peregrination, you’ll love beplayful.org.  Sign up here for the beplayful.org RSS feed.  It’s completely free.

(Psst… for more playful goodness check out the new articles archive at beplayful.org.  There’s bound to be something there you’ve not yet read).

Inspirational quotations and uplifting photographs to reawaken your inner playfulness and creativity.

Difficult Sentences

‘Writing sentences is difficult whatever their subject. It is no less difficult to write sentences in a recipe than sentences in Moby-Dick. So you might as well write Moby-Dick.’ - Annie Dillard

Reflections

Writing a sentence that expresses exactly what is on your soul, and does so beautifully and effortlessly, is an extremely difficult enterprise.  In fact, writing any sentence that articulates precisely what you’re wanting to say is a challenge.

Sentences are the building blocks of the writer’s trade.  A bricklayer building a strong and elegant structure needs a transfusion of raw talent (steady hand, level eye) and dedicated learning (how to mix cement, which bricks to use where).  Writing’s no different.   Talent is some of it.  But mostly you need the devoted, unswerving tenacity of a terrier chasing down rabbit holes.

What are the bricks of your creative talent?  Are you building a wall for security, a home to live in, or a sacred structure to nourish the life of all who enter it?

Do you use and stretch your natural talents to their outer limits?  Are you ever tempted to settle for putting together recipes when you could be writing Moby-Dick?

Playful Miniguides: A semi-regular series of simple guides to the art of playful living.

How to Make Someone’s Day

Smile

Smiles are the silent words of angels.  Share your smile today to brighten and inspire the soul of every person you meet.

Touch

The internet means that the world is more connected than ever, yet online communication can never replace the real connection that all people hunger for – human touch.  Share this precious gift by giving a hug today

Be present

Both the world around us and the world within us can distract us from being truly present and engaging with the people we love.  Set aside your worries for a moment, turn off the TV, and spend an evening being present with the special people in your life.

Be grateful

Remember to say thank you whenever gratitude is due.

Laugh

Tell a joke, lose your inhibitions, dance around the kitchen.  Laughter is infectious, good for your health, and works wonders  of healing for even the most wounded of souls.

Listen

Open your soul and your being to others through the art of active listening.

Give

Make cookies for your work colleagues, write out your favourite poem for a close friend, whistle a tune whilst you shop, sing a song as you wander down the street.

Share blessings

To give a true blessing, tell another person everything that is wonderful about them.  Write your blessings as a note to give words that can be remembered, held in the soul, and cherished forever.

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If you’ have an idea for a Miniguide, please contact me via email at david@beplayful.org.

Inspirational quotations and uplifting photographs to reawaken your inner playfulness and creativity.

The Zen of Baking

“Forget meditation; forget yoga: bake a cake.”
~ David Myers

Reflections

When I feel stressed or upset I love to bake.  The careful focus to measure ingredients, the aggressive stirring strength to fuse together solid and liquid into dough, the patience whilst the aroma of sweetness fills the house, the anticipation of wonderful food.  All these help to clear out the negative energy from my body, whilst the sense of accomplishment in creating something worthwhile puts my worries and concerns of the moment into perspective.

My favourites are chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake.  Click through the links for two of the best ever recipes.   (Tip: Don’t put jam inside the chocolate cake.  Jam is for sandwiches).

What are your tips for clearing negative energy from your body?  How do you put your worries and concerns into perspective?

Thanks to Gaetan Lee for the photograph.

Pets are expressly banned in our household by decree of our landlord.  Nonetheless, from time to time we are visited by a scruffy brown tabby cat whom we have christened Puss Puss.

If ever she’s feeling lonely, she’ll saunter up to our house, and meow at the door until someone lets her in for a cuddle.

Puss Puss’s carefree manner has taught me a great deal about living the playful life.  In this post, I share what I’ve learnt from our little brown cat friend.

Puss Puss’s philosophy of life is based on five simple maxims:

1. Enjoy the present moment

Puss Puss knows how to have fun here and now.  Whether she’s pouncing on blades of grass, chasing butterflies or playing tag with her moggy friends, she knows that now is the best time to be making the most of.

Whatever is happening around her, Puss Puss looks out for opportunities to have fun.

2. Nurture your quirks

Puss Puss has a  squirrel style fluffy tail.  Because the rest of her coat is sleek and smooth, it makes her look lopsided and unbalanced.  It also takes a disproportionate amount of time to lick clean compared to the rest of her body; yet Puss Puss gives her tail the extra licking time and attention it needs.

Our strangenesses and weaknesses, the places where we feel the most wounded, need care and attention.  It is these places that are also our wellsprings of life, beauty and creativity.

Puss Puss’s tail, though seeming odd and out of place, is what makes her unique.   It is strange, but also strangely beautiful.

3. Spend time sitting in the sunshine

Puss Puss intuitively understands that the sun is good for you.  Being outside in the sunshine is a recipe for happiness.  If somewhere is warm and sunny, Puss Puss will be there lounging.

Sunshine is a different thing for every person.  For some, it’s reading inspiring books.  Others, it’s spending time at the local art gallery.  Swimming, meditating, walking in the countryside, or a regular afternoon nap.  My parent’s dog, for example, loves lying down by their open log fire, absorbing its gentle warmth.

Whatever helps you unwind – remember to give that thing the time it deserves.

4. Follow your spirit

Puss Puss is a carefree wanderer.  She doesn’t really know what she wants from life yet, she has no clear goals, so she follows her spirit.  She intuitively feels her way through every moment of every day.

This means she has the time to follow opportunities and chase down hunches.  Most of all, though, she can simply have fun and learn about being herself.

Mice are pretty cool to chase.  And little birds.  Sometimes it’s amusing just to pounce on the lawn, not aiming at anything in particular, just practicing the silent power launch, the claw swipe and the sharp toothed jaw grab.

5. Expect love to come your way

Most of her time Puss Puss spends away from our house.  Yet everytime she turns up, she has the confidence to trust that if we are around, we will let her in for fuss, attention, and the occasional free meal.
Puss Puss knows that given the opportunity to flourish and be who they really are, all people deep down have the capacity to be loving and caring.  She trusts that if she shares her love with the world by being her true self, love will be returned to her.

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Creative inspirations is a new series of inspirational quotations and uplifting photographs to reawaken your inner playfulness and creativity.

The Artist Child

‘All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once she grows up.’ - Pablo Picasso

Some Reflections

I’ve been fortunate to discover blogging and writing as a way of expressing my creative side – to breathe life into my inner child and to refuse to completely grow up.

Have you been able to remain an artist whilst growing up?  How do you express your creative side?

Please share your experiences and ideas in the comments.  I’m excited to hear other people unleash their creativity.

Thanks to ishrona for the photograph.

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‘The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.’
John Vance Cheney

A rainbow is formed where sun rays and raindrops meet.

Life is a lot like a rainbow – a mixture of rain and sunshine.  At any one moment in time, some aspects of life can be going wonderfully, whilst others seem stuck in a rut of pain, doubt or fear.

Rainbows are magical spaces of growth and opportunity.

In Norse mythology, rainbows were believed to be the road between gods and human beings.  Rainbows represent a meeting point with the sacred, a place of transformation.

Indian mythology understands rainbows as the bridge between death and life.  When our soul-life deadens within us, we journey along the rainbow to be revived and refreshed.

The well known Irish story is of a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow.  Rainbows in the soul are a sign of inner riches we have yet to find.

The Bible story of Noah tells us that the rainbow is a symbol of God’s blessing.  The complexity of rain and sunshine, pain and wonder, light and darkness fused within the human soul are the sign of a life being truly lived.

When life seems both dangerous and beautiful, cloudy and clear, abundant and scarce – when all of these feelings lighten and darken our soul at once – let us remember the wonder of rainbow blessing, the truths that nature shares.