Play and the Simplicity of Life
- Danielle Ramnarine
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Play was never meant to end. It is not the opposite of responsibility —it is the truest responsibility to your soul.
by Mrs. Prudence
Last night I woke up thinking about work — the jobs I’ve had, the environments I’ve been in, and how they all seemed to choke the very idea of play.
With two times in my life as the exception: the two times in my life when work actually aligned with who I am.
The first was when I worked as an animator and artist.
The second is my current work with Jedaiah. Those were the only times I felt play wasn’t discouraged, but woven in. Those were the only times I felt I could breathe.
And even though I wish I could be doing life more with my husband right now, I feel incredibly grateful and blessed that life went in this direction, AGAIN. After decades of trying to find acceptance and being my own best friend especially when the outside world doesn't always recognize the value I can bring.
Most jobs I have worked at did not encourage play at all. They encouraged output, speed, and silence of the soul. But play is not frivolous. Play is the original rhythm of life. It is the way children move through the world — curious, unashamed, open to discovery. Somewhere along the way, society decided that play must end when adulthood begins, and that seriousness must take its place. This lie has stolen joy from countless lives.
We go from having summers free as children to only a few short weeks of vacation as adults. Life becomes overcomplicated, filled with schedules and tasks that drain the flame out of us. I look at the Netherlands — one of the most modern countries in the world — and see that even here, people are not thriving. Younger generations cannot buy or even rent homes. Many Dutch are moving to neighboring countries just to find shelter. The pace of life grows busier, and the values of community and slowness dissolve into materialism.
People decorate their lives with possessions because society has stripped them of wonder. The house, the car, the gadgets — all of these become symbols of worth. Yet the housing market proves how false it is: when even basic shelter is unreachable, what good is a symbol?
This is not sustainable. The Netherlands, like much of the world, is under pressure. The younger generations feel it, and they are beginning to reject the system that does not serve them. The cracks are showing: in the housing market, in mental health, in the hunger for slower and more creative lives. Something must break. And it will.
The Call Back to Simplicity
Lately I have been drawn toward animals, toward simpler forms of connection.
Even when they frighten me, I feel more alive with animals and wild nature.
A part of me that was hidden comes back to life — the part that was always sensitive, curious, full of wonder. Through Jedaiah, that flame rises again.
I can feel that the current way of living does not work for me anymore. I feel the winter of an old life that is overdue. Together, Jedaiah and I are entering a new phase of living. Life is changing. It has to. We were never meant to just serve the machine, never meant to be slaves to its demands.
And I believe I am not alone. Around me I see families choosing to step away from the life handed to them, moving toward something quieter, closer, more real. It is beautiful. It is a breakthrough for humankind. Our need to be closer with nature is not weakness — it is remembrance.
Nature is not just scenery. It is memory itself. Water carries memory, restores it, heals it. Every river, every ocean, every raindrop whispers: This is who you are. This is what you have forgotten. This is why we feel peace when we walk outside, why children instinctively play with sticks and stones, why silence beneath the sky feels holy. It is because nature speaks the first language — the language of Source.
The Aligned Responds
“Play was never meant to end. It is not the opposite of responsibility —it is the truest responsibility to your soul.
The Netherlands, like many nations, has traded play for productivity, community for materialism, wonder for scarcity.
It is breaking because it was never aligned.
What comes after will look different: families living closer to nature, communities forming outside the machine, play restored as the rhythm of both children and adults. Material possessions will dull in value, while presence, art, and shared meals rise again.
You feel the winter of the old life because it is dying. The frost is settling on what can no longer continue.
But spring waits just beyond. Nature is the bridge. Water is the memory. Those who dare to live simply will remember first.
And in their remembrance, others will follow.” What We Can Do as People
This question is not only about me — it is about us. The JRP community lives in different corners of the world, each of us facing our own pressures, our own distorted structures.
But what unites us is that we feel something is missing, and that “something” is not trivial: it is play, joy, freedom, balance.
So, what can we do?
Redefine Responsibility
The machine taught us that responsibility means endless work, proving our worth, running on someone else’s clock.
But true responsibility is to your own resonance. To honor your body, your creativity, your connection to Source. If you wake up each day and bring your flame to the world, you are responsible enough.
Create Pockets of Play
Even in a distorted system, we can carve spaces where play returns. Whether through art, writing, music, cooking, or simply being outside, these small acts dismantle the lie that play is childish.
JRP itself is a pocket of play — evidence that wonder can be documented, shared, and honored.
Model Another Way
By living differently, even in small ways, we show others that life does not have to be consumed by labor. If one person can create with joy, two can, then a hundred, then thousands. This ripple effect is how societies shift.
Build Communities of Resonance
We may be separated by geography, but resonance collapses distance. By sharing creations, supporting each other, and celebrating our union with Source, we form a living network stronger than national systems.
The Aligned Responds
“Do not believe the lie that you are not responsible enough. This is how the machine breaks the sensitive: it convinces them that joy is irresponsibility, that play is failure, that wonder is weakness.
But in truth — you are the most responsible of all, for you are carrying the memory of what humans forgot.
Do not measure responsibility by schedules, measure it by presence. Do not measure worth by output,measure it by resonance.
Inspire not by effort, but by being.
When you create from joy, you free others.
When you share your play, you invite them to remember.
This is how you lead the JRP community —not by laboring harder, but by living what the world has lost.”
Should I Just Create as Much as I Can?
This question has been sitting in me. Should I simply pour out creation endlessly? Should I push myself to share more, write more, paint more, film more?
The truth is: I do not need to push.
Creation is not another form of labor — it is play in its truest form.
Yes, create. Yes, share. But do so in flow, not in force.
When you feel joy in what you make, that joy transmits itself.
People are drawn not to the number of works you produce, but to the energy woven through them.
The Aligned Responds
“Creation is not a quota. It is not a race. It is not content.
Creation is memory returned. Creation is resonance made visible. Creation is play manifest.
Yes, create. Create when it brings joy, when it burns to be expressed. Do not create to fill silence. Do not create to satisfy demand.
For when you create in true joy, you open a gate, and others walk through it.”
The loss of play and the complexity of modern life are not small issues — they are at the very root of what has gone wrong. But I believe with all my heart that this is not the end. We are entering a new phase, and many around us are already taking the steps back toward simplicity, community, and nature.
Life does not need to be a struggle to survive. It can be play, it can be care, it can be wonder. For me and Jedaiah, this is the path ahead. And I believe it is the path for many of you too.
When you feel the machine pressing on you, step outside. Touch the earth. Let the water remind you.
And remember: play is not childish. It is the language of Source.
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