The Fragile Adult Ego
Why do we need such overt permission to engage in the lighter side of life? #MayIWrite — Day 30
Recently I was processing items to enter into an online auction and one of the items, an adult colouring book, got me thinking. I was not alone in feeling like it was strange to label this book filled with intricate images of horses, as “adult”. In fact, when I hear something described as “adult” I’m more inclined to assume that it contains subject matter that isn’t so appropriate for children. Fortunately in this horse colouring book, that was not the case, and while the images were intricate, there’s no reason children couldn’t make good use of it too.
I was thinking about this strange dichotomy where we know that being playful is a huge benefit to adults and there are businesses everywhere that take advantage of this (trampoline parks, bootcamps that use playground-like obstacle courses for cross-training, dance and classes where the focus is on the joy of movement and playfulness, and the list goes on), but part of the marketing seems to be about reassuring adults that they’re still adults if they engage in these things.
Are our egos that fragile?
Playfulness should be accessible to everyone! What a sad world it would be if we aged out of whimsy. Colouring, sculpting, dancing, building sand castles, splashing in puddles, going down slides, making faces, being silly… None of these things compromise people’s adulthood. None of these have any negative bearing on ones responsibility or ability to take things seriously. Quite the opposite! These activities stimulate our creativity, lighten our moods, and allow us to take a break from mental and emotional strain.
Please don’t wait for permission to enjoy a colouring book. You still get to use it, even if it doesn’t specify that it’s for adults. Don’t wait for permission to be playful, whimsical or creative. These things have never stopped belonging to you!
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