This time of year is my favorite by far, and Halloween is my favorite holiday to be sure. That's because collectively adults are "allowed" to dress up in costumes.
If you're familiar with the movement around reclaiming your creativity and also the notions of self-help and self-care, remembering back to your childhood to the things you loved most is a clue as to what you'd enjoy pursuing as an adult. Finding that untainted joy from when we were young is the key to healing, releasing the weight of the world from our bodies, becoming mindful and present, and finding pleasure in the very act of living.
I've often had trouble remembering what I loved as a child. I knew drawing and making art was in there somewhere. But unfortunately my brain has tended over the years to remember the hard times, the embarrassing moments, the humiliating situations, and the challenges. I was a serious and sensitive child, the world seemed pretty mean. At least, that's how my memory has framed those years.
So imagine my surprise and delight when I realized that playing dress up was indeed one of my favorite things to do as a kid. I went to my first renaissance fair in college, a friend that worked at the fairs lent me some clothes the first time I went. And being fully decked out meant the other "actors" of the fair interacted with me in a way that they wouldn't have if I had been in "mundane" clothes. It was so much fun!! Throughout my twenties I went to many more fairs and even started making my own costumes. I loved the designing and crafting of the costumes as much as the wearing of them.
In my thirties that love of dressing up switched over to belly dancing. The costumes and the make up and hanging out with my friends all fully decked out was actually more fun for me than the dancing and performing. Again, designing and creating our outfits was as much fun as wearing them out and about in the world. I especially loved going to boring old places like the grocery store in full dance regalia because of the effect it had. Adults would often avoid any sort of eye contact while children would openly stare and often ask questions and engage with me. So telling, yes?
Becoming a mom and having the excuse to dress up for Halloween every year with my son gave my creativity so many chances to play! Helping him create his costumes and seeing him get so excited to dress up each year was a double bonus win.
At my office job there was a preschool on site, what a great excuse to dress up every Halloween because the children there were also dressed up and loved it so much. I was always surprised though that so few adults would dress up that day. But I did it faithfully every year. Sometimes people wouldn't even recognize me.
Nowadays I continue this tradition, I really should live in an urban area where there are all kinds of events for adults to do cosplay and to bust out their most creative costume ideas. I love that this is a thing now. I wish more adults would embrace it. Especially at this time of year!
Dressing up gives you the chance to tap into another side of yourself, to find your alter ego, to play, to remember what it's like to be a kid again. Creating costumes is an active mindfulness activity as well, diving into that creative flow ~ just like painting, writing, dancing, and singing do ~ it keeps you alive and excited and in the current moment, not stressing about the past or worrying about the future. It brings delight and connection to others as well, busting us out of the everyday drudgery to elevate our moods and lighten the weight of the world from our shoulders, even if just momentarily.
I will be dressing up for Halloween and seeking out more excuses to create and put on a costume for the rest of my life!!!
What are you going to be this year? What's your costume?
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