Escape the minutiae of the everyday in the realm of make-believe
As a child, I routinely transformed our family home into a make-believe world. Our kitchen became a mystical canyon, populated by exotic wildlife and edible flora, and our front garden the prow of a magic ship, with me its captain.
However, by the time I was an adult, unseen locations and ships with special powers had lost their appeal. As life and reality demanded more and more of my attention, the membrane between the real and the imagined solidified: things simply were what they were, and nothing more.
Adults rarely give themselves permission to create an imagined world out of the real. As a writer, I inhabit the realm of my imagination all the time, but I no longer pretend that where I am is anywhere but here. Yet as a child, I was always slipping in and out of pretend worlds. As kids, our imagination is huge and our creativity boundless. One moment you’re asking mum where your school uniform is, the next you’re a captain of the fleet.
Many people still feel the need to escape into a world of fantasy. It’s why films and books are so beloved. Yet to create a pretend environment as adults, it’s necessary to arrange the moment. It must be prescribed play: a fancy[1]dress party, a re-enactment of a historical event, paintball or laser-tag. Often, this world suspended above the real is organised by somebody else – a company to which money is paid – it has clear time parameters and it’s away from routine life.
In this way, the person knows they are playing pretend. Yet a fear of allowing fantasy to bleed into the everyday might also remove the opportunity to live a happier, freer life.
Psychologists acknowledge the huge impact make-believe has on adults. If you are mentally able to escape to another place and generate the positive feelings you would have if you were actually there, your brain will believe it has really happened. I believe it’s possible to access the benefits of mindful pretend play on a regular basis, if desired. Mini escapes from the grind of the everyday can help you reconnect with a part of yourself that is so often lost when childhood drops away.
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO EVERYDAY PRETEND PLAY
- Think of a make-believe place you’d like to inhabit for 20 minutes: Hogwarts? Narnia? Your own fantasy kingdom? Remember what you loved as a kid or teen.
- Pick a real-world location to help you achieve your aim: a historic building, a walk in a national park.
- Switch your phone off – this is not the real world.
- As you enter, work your imagination to create interest and colour. The more you practise, the easier it will become – just as in childhood.
- Try to maximise feelings of fun and enjoyment, and take them with you when you return to the humdrum of the real world.
