The Most Underrated Way to Find Yourself

It’s safe to say we’re living through an extraordinary time.

Everything feels very serious.

The news alone can make the whole day feel heavy. Even the way we talk about healing can start to feel like one more assignment.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about play.

Not because life is light.

But because I notice what happens when my mind starts spinning.

I go outside to take a walk.

At first, I may still be knotted up in whatever I was thinking about. Then I notice the palm leaves swaying or someone passing me on the sidewalk.

I make a conscious effort to smile at everyone I pass.

And somehow, it brings me back to the present moment again.

There’s something about moving through the world that changes a thought.

That is where play begins for me.

It interrupts the part of me that keeps trying to control everything.

It reminds me of the day I left New Jersey.

I was sitting in my packed car (photo above), having sold or given almost everything away. I had no idea where I was going for the long haul.

I only knew I was about to take the biggest adventure of my life alone, driving across the country.

Somewhere between the fear and the freedom, Fun Sally showed up in the driver’s seat.

I remember looking at my stacked bracelets, my hands on the wheel, and feeling alive.

There was no perfect plan and no one I had to convince.

For the next five months, I had joyful adventures. Being somewhere new allowed me to stay present. I made choices along the way, and I also chose to let the path unfold.

Eventually, that path brought me to California.

But the real return happened before I arrived anywhere.

It happened the moment I stopped trying to know exactly what came next.

That is trust.

And that is why play matters.

Play lets us get lost long enough to find ourselves again.

Play isn’t childish. It’s necessary.

It’s one of the most creative things we can do, especially now.

Take a walk without turning it into a workout. Put on music while making dinner. Play cards. Call the friend who makes you laugh before you remember what you were worried about.

Do something that lets life feel lighter.

I write about Fun Sally in Trust Yourself Anyway because she is not just the playful part of me.

She is the free part.

The part that knows life doesn’t have to be figured out before we start living it

Sally’s Weekly Reminder

“Lose yourself in play to find your true self again.”