Springtime Silliness: A Call to Divine Play
- Monica Eastway
- Apr 17
- 6 min read
Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.
—Doug Larson
My childlike self always seems to be reignited in Spring.
The season offers us an invitation to immerse ourselves in rebirth, renewal, rebalancing, and reawakening—as the leaves unfurl bright green, bulb flowers push through the last remnants of winter, and birds sing joyful songs that never fail to warm my heart
with a smile.
Nature invites us every day to notice, smell, feel, dance, sing, celebrate—and most of all, play—in all the wonderment and glory of Spring.
This morning, while sifting through my archives, I stumbled upon something I wrote nearly a decade ago for my (still percolating) book:
Gnome ThysELF: Whimsical Wellness & Magical Gnome Hats.
Gnome Tones: A Breathing Practice for Play
I invite you to enjoy a whimsical moment.
At Forest School, we call this soulful magical breathwork Gnome Tones.
Gnome Tones helps little ones (and big ones) transition from busy minds to playful hearts. ✨ Inhale deeply—as if you're taking in the sweet scent of the first Spring bloom. ✨ Exhale slowly with a soft gnome tone—a resonance that tickles the treetops and stirs the sleepy moss.
Feel the silliness in your cheeks.
Let your shoulders drop like petals in sunlight.
Inhale the freshness of new beginnings...
Exhale gnome tone and let yourself settle into joy.
You're officially tuned in. 🌱✨
Welcome to the Whimsical Wonder of Play!
The Gnomestress
Twice a year, I'm a visiting teacher at our local forest school on Whimsical Wednesdays in Gnomevember and during Earth Month. The children, ages 2–6, know me as
The Gnomestress.
I arrive in full gnomestress regalia, carrying a basket full of lessons and, of course, magical gnome hats—the most magical gnome hats in all the land!
Our intergenerational learning adventures, in their 100% outdoor school, never fail to fill my heart, imagination, soul, and purpose with the power of divine play.
To play in this way, at age 49, is spiritual. Deeply divine.
This Earth Month 2025, I opened my car door to a magical moment.
All the children stood by the school gate, shouting,
"Gnomestress! Gnomestress is here! YAY!"
The teachers told me the children had been waiting for my arrival for 45 minutes!
My heart is singing just typing this.
We began our first session of the year with a mini lesson:
“Monica or Gnomestress?”
We explored what's "real" and what's "pretend" or "make-believe."
As we nestled into the cobzebo, I asked,
Do you remember when we made up the story of Pumpy the Pumpy together? I took notes in my gnome gnotebook during our adventures, and we turned them into books. We used our imaginations to create a make-believe story in a magical world
Their eyes lit up in recognition, and soon they were begging to go on another gnome adventure—up to the magic castle, where imagination blooms.
Whenever I return from an afternoon at forest school, my imagination expands exponentially. Connecting with creativity in such a safe and silly way is nothing short of enlightening.
The deep imagination is also our primary resource for recognizing the emerging future, for "seeing" the visionary possiblities of what we can create right now–indvidually and collectivly...It is our essential resource for all genuine human creativity. –Bill Plockin
May we all advocate for and nurture intergenerational relationships throughout our lifespan.
—human to human and human to Nature.
When's the last time you played with someone 45 years older or younger than you, with baby goats or watched an ancient oak unfurl its spring leaves?
Our early childhood experiences with Nature build the foundation of lifelong
But today, too many children get less than 10 minutes of outdoor time per day—and often not in nature-rich spaces.
Many adults who lacked early nature experiences now struggle to engage their families outdoors—or understand why it matters.
What concerns me most about the world today is, our growing disconnection from the natural world—for all ages. The children of today are the carers of tomorrow—for both people and Our Shared Home.
PLAY! is a simple, joyful, and powerful way to nurture connectedness
—to each other and with Nature.
🌟 Whimsical Wellness: Gnome ThysELF
Excerpt:
Are you or someone you love suffering from Comical Imbalance?
Many folks today find themselves in a most serious disposition: Adulthood.
Research suggests a serious disposition is linked to a lack of play—aka,
Comical Imbalance. And Comical Imbalance can lead to painful humorroids.
To be comical is to be funny, lighthearted, and playful. When we bring a playful spirit into our lives, we gain more than laughter—we gain inspiration, motivation, and a renewed zest for life.
The Age of Maturity brings with it a mountain of obligations: work, deadlines, bills, family responsibilities. And now, digital life adds another layer of distraction with gizmos and gadgets tethered to our waking moments.
Play? That's something we did as kids, right?
Remember this:
Building forts. Make-believe play. Running through sprinklers. Swinging until your legs touched the sky. Lying on the grass, watching clouds take shape—pure silliness!
Can you imagine turning off the gizmo… and entering the realm of childlike play?
Curing Comical Imbalance
Grumpy Grownups
Grumpy grownups have been stripped of their most pure and powerful gift: PLAY!
While society encourages competitive, adult-centered play,
silly, nonsensical, non-goal-oriented play is often viewed as "pointless."
But research tells a different story—child-inspired play is potent medicine for grumpy grownups, curing comical imbalance!
Joyful Play rejuvenates our lives, relieves stress, promotes love for learning, connects us to Nature and each other, fosters wholeheartedness, boosts vitality and immune function, prevents chronic dis-ease, and prods us to balance sensory overload from our gizmos and gadgets with more meaningful fun moments in and with Nature.
We Are Nature.
Tapping In by Tapping Out and Tapping Out by Tapping In
Play enlivens our work. Play elevates imagination, promoting ease of mind and relaxing worry and doubt so we are better equipped to adapt to change and experience the world we want to see in real-time.
Play resets our brain with Endless Possibility ~~~~
Relationships are refreshed with Play, healing old hurts and resentments and letting go of fears while fostering an enlightened disposition.
Play is the Here and Now Experience.
Dr. Stuart Brown, Founder of the National Institute for Play, calls play:
a state of being, purposeless, fun and pleasurable. The focus is on the actual experience, not accomplishing a goal. Play is the purest expression of love.
By increasing your playtime outdoors and with Nature, you will increase your happiness and the happiness of those around you.
By increasing happiness, you achieve Comical Balance.
A playful spirit brings delight into your home, workplace, classroom, care community, and all those 'serious places'.
Playfulness creates an ambiance of smiles, laughs, and a contagious feel-good resonance for you and all living beings around you; even the flowers, bees, birds, and trees will respond in kind! They, too, need to experience our playfulness cheer.
Five Simple Yet Profound Ways to Cure Comical Imbalance:
Let go. Be silly.
Breathe a gnome tone.
EnJoy an Awe Walk, every day!!!
Reconnect with Nature and all the wonders of Divine Play.
Oh, Yes And: Become a Care Outdoors Leader!
Someday, indeed, we will have more Care Outdoors Leaders than Medication Managers! Imagine....less Comical Imbalance, no more humoroids, and a whole lot more PLAY!
Live Like Clovis
The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities. —James Allen
Dream Big my friends, our world is depending on creative wholehearted visionaries to lead the way into a future where all species can thrive in harmony.
My favorite neighbor and good friend Clovis left for her trip on April 1st, 2025, just a few weeks shy of her 95th birthday.
She gave me that quote on a small piece of paper the day I first shared with her my vison and dream about Eco Generation Park.
Clovis taught me so much about life—about living, about aging.
I miss her dearly. And every time my heart aches, I'm reminded of yet another
Clovis teaching.
Our intergenerational friendship, filled my soul every bit as much as my friendships with the little ones at forest school. Clovis was one of the most imaginative people I've ever been blessed to know. She nurtured the dreams of others as lovingly as she held her own.
🌱
Stay tuned… I'm working on a new series:
The Roots of Eco Gerontology: Live Like Clovis.
I began writing a blog about her and quickly realized—there's simply too much to share in one post. Clovis gets an entire series. First publication begins on her birthday, April 28th.
Happy Earth Month,
Every Month.
And if you see me in my gnome hat, just smile and say,
"Hi Gnomestress!"
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