whimsy

The best toys are the ones which allow us to vibrate with creative juices that flow happily onto the canvas of our lives. A heightened awareness, a turning on of possibilities..........a motivator to generate open expression of passion. Toys can offer the avenue to share some fun through interacting and focusing on open ended excitement. Even the most staid looking invention that seems to have only a one speed kind of function can be altered simply by using one's imagination.....by feeding our thought horizons with some whimsy. Turn on the imagination, and let whimsy be the guide.

When I was a child, I remember playing in the tall grass and fallen leaves at the back of the yard near the creek. At first glance, the area didn't look like it had any potential for whimsical adventures. And yet, we played back there for hours raking up the leaves and stomping down the grass to form rooms in a make believe home...........designing a sacred place where we acted out various scenarios.......playing house, playing school.............acting, plotting, planning.....just having fun.

Have you ever watched a young child on Christmas morning after the presents have been opened? There they are surrounded by dust collecting huggable toys or battery operated thing-a-ma-jigs......stuff they wanted even.........and yet they are more fascinated by the boxes?? Did you ever have a chance to play in a LARGE box that used to hold an appliance? Sure it was fun for a while to turn it into a hiding place, but then it became a tool for open ended ideas. The ends were opened up. Some windows were carved out of the side. Sometimes the exterior was painted or drawn up. It became a house, a tunnel, a slide.............whimsy was the culprit. Whimsy breaks open the possibilities.

As adults, we seem to suffocate our whimsy to a large extent. It's not something usually invited to big important grown up meetings. It's not allowed to attend serious performances as an audience member. Churches aren't too big on allowing whimsy to take a seat in the pew.....too darn unpredictable. And when unpredictable whimsy alights, well...................people get scared of what may happen, of being embarrassed by it's delightful nature.

Whimsy is an oddfellow.............and yet we suck up it's sweetness when we can let go and be creative beings. We welcome it into our lives when we need an outlet, when we have acquired a new idea seed to enlighten our passions. Personally, I keep whimsy close by because I love how it stirs me into new worlds of creativity. I love finding another seeker of whimsy as well because it's meant to be shared............a delightful alight.......... Yes, whimsy performs best outside of the box, away from institutional thinking and structures where liturgy is expected to remain rigid and unmoving. She likes wide open spaces best.

Any creative open-ended project, plan, approach needs someone to step outside of their world and their thinking in order to let the possibilities churn. If that someone can find themselves out in their own margins of thinking, they will be warmly welcomed by whimsy.....a bright colourful animator of fun who loves to shake things up a bit. And on this Sunday morning as I contemplate the importance of illogical, spontaneous, colourful whimsy as the catalyst of creation, I'm thinking that perhaps God is her strongest advocate.

Look around!! Do you think He would've been able to create the endless beauty we have around us if He wasn't a whimsy believer? No way! In fact, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest that not only did God call upon whimsy as his interior and exterior decorator, He thoroughly enjoyed learning how to colour outside of the margins.

Whimsy is our best friend and will continue to be loyal as long as you recognize her need to be included in colouring our lives. Take her on.....show her off! Wear her with pride...........let her paint the canvas of your life....

batteries and any foreseen shyness are not included........anyone for pole dancing? I hear theres a Princess out there willing to show us how! All as a means for good wholesome exercise of course. Oh, and when she visited me lately, she informed me of a whimsical new game to play with firefighters....i've heard of lawn darts.........but arse darts? I love her whimsy side.

Hey Princess? Can I wear my new leggings pole dancing? It would make me feel sarahdipitous no doubt.