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We’re often told that incarnation is a messy thing.
It’s full of heartbreak, unrequited love, shame, and so many other effects of extreme polarity. Many tell us that we come here as a school, to learn how to love ourselves under any condition; mirrored by all others that we encounter, we experience ourselves in many costumes, with varying characteristics both ugly and beautiful to compare ourselves to. It can get a human down if one stays focused only on the struggle of awakening. Not much fun involved, eh?
Just as the most balanced of trains travel on two tracks to any destination, we can look at evolution in the same way. The Old-World way of thinking would have us travel on the “struggle” side of those tracks, while just beside it, lies another one, traveling the same path, in an optimistic manner. This track covers the same ground, but with a more positive outlook.
What is life like over there, on that other rail?
You can go there anytime you like, you know. It’s just a shift of focus.
Much like a child who hasn’t been exposed to “adulting” yet, we could–if we are able to look ahead rather than down at the rail we’re walking on–live life having just plain fun. We can walk on that other rail of the track.
Enter the concept of responsible play.
In the past few years, I’ve been working very closely with Seth, who you may remember from the series of Jane Roberts books in the 1970s and 1980s. He’s one of the OG channeled consciousnesses, and although lovely Jane has left this world for other pastures, Seth still remains as a teacher for those of us who are ready to sit as students. In Seth Speaks, he advises that humans often miss the point of existence in its truest form:
“On the one hand, you take life too seriously, and on the other, you do not take playful existence seriously enough.”
When I hear this statement, there’s an area just below my heart that breathes an internal sigh of…relief. Do you mean that I don’t ever have to walk on that other rail to evolve?
Could it be true that we really don’t need any struggle with the dark evils of life to enjoy living it? That battle scars and “here’s-what-I-went-through-to-get-here” speeches were never necessary? That the experience of evolutionary pain is a choice rather than a requirement of human existence?
First, let’s look at some worn-out definitions of play.
I’ll throw a few in the fire to start:
- wasting valuable time
- selfish
- impetuous
- the opposite of “work.”
So now that that fire is burning, let’s get some marshmallows to roast on it while we muse on “responsibility.”
There are Universal values that promote value fulfillment: integrity, kindness, and optimism, to name a few. In my reality, those are non-negotiables, having experienced their opposites and realized that they are not anywhere close to fun. Could you play with these ideas still? Yes, of course, in a free-will Universe you can walk on that negative rail purposefully and intentionally for as long as you like. Will you have a lot of playmates for too long? Probably not, since the more focus you give those Service-to-Self values, you will run into increasingly painful barriers and lessons as your frequency rises. You’re going to ascend, whether you like it or not. The tracks always move on, and in the distance, they merge.
So, with sovereignty accounted for, let’s take a gander at the other option:
What IF…this whole evolution of consciousness thing is really not that big a deal?
What IF Earth really doesn’t depend on a critical mass of awakened beings to “flip” it into non-polarity?
What IF…we were just here to play, with evolutionary advancement being a by-product of that play?
How would your life change if you walked on the playful rail?
If a life of colorful “What IF” sounds like more fun than the serious life you have now, how do you get from a sober “awakened community member” to one who lives a life of responsible play?
Well, you can start with labels. We’re going to jump the tracks.
Let’s take an example from your clothes closet. Swing open that door, and really take a gander at what is hanging there.
- Work clothes
- Winter coats
- Scarves
In just that short list above, we’ve identified items in your closet “created” to fulfill a specific role in your life. You wore a suit coat to work, perhaps. When it’s cold outside, you put the winter coat on. You have, essentially, labeled the utility of certain things, and when that use is uncalled for, those items lay dormant in both your closet and in your mind. In essence, they don’t actually exist until you open the closet and focus on them.
That is unless you give them alternate, playful uses.
You can paint old work clothes (who wears them nowadays, anyway?) and sell them on Etsy. Winter coats become tents for adult wine forts. I’m sure you can imagine other things you can do with scarves if you’re lucky enough to have a free partner. In fact, beyond your closet, most things in your life are labeled for specific uses. Utilitarian uses, “other rail” uses.
See if you can give them more FUN associations.
For instance, your passport–a necessary document to cross national borders– could also represent a symbol of freedom. Of fond memories of that trip to Paris. Of bucket list possibilities. Of accomplishment when you review all the stamps you’ve added to the pages.
Seeing these common utilitarian things allows you to re-label them with newer, more exciting uses. And there will be a time when you don’t need to label them at all…for they will be neutral props ready to serve your next whim. And notice that “whim” is contained in the word “whimsey.” You always have a choice.
Responsible play includes love for all of your playthings.
Respect is another part of this equation.
Let’s say you had some fun playing a board game with your friends. Hopefully, you are wearing something totally unexpected from your closet (odd socks are a favorite of mine).
It’s not just about picking up all of the pieces of the game and returning them to the box once you’re finished playing. It’s about appreciating the game’s inventor, the path it took to get to you, and the shelf that you’ve cleared off to store it on. It’s about gratefulness for the time you have to play, for the co-creative players that have chosen you as their cohort in the game—any game. And whether you “win” or “lose,” you do it with honor for the journey that all took to get to the “end” of the game.
When you focus on the positive aspects of whatever you’ve been playing with, you attract similar experiences. You move further along on the “play rail.” You can live this way. And you can still learn the lessons for which you incarnated. Happy balancing, my lovely co-creators.
author: Kimberly
