Most people only see their environment as something that is there, something that simply exists, without any deeper thoughts spend on it. There are objects which all have a clear use for a certain purpose. A handrail to hold on, a path to walk on, a bench to sit on or a car to drive with.

Most adults have lost complete interest in the physical interaction with daily objects. Their mind is disconnected from the now and from their body, and their body in turn is disconnected from their environment. Often, after long days of office work – which is only mental work – instead of engaging with the physical aspects of life, people tend to move even further away from movement and engage in watching TV or social media on their couches.

There is another way, though. That is the way of movement and play, of actively connecting with the physical world around you.

How does it feel to balance on a pole? How does it feel swinging a branch, how does its inertia feel? Do I have strength and skill to climb up this tree? Is the underground soft, hard, or slippery? When was the last time I was just lying on the floor? Your interaction with the environment is like a language. You can become fluent in a language or learn different languages. You can express yourself in certain ways. A skateboarder, for example, perceives his environment in a different way than a businessman. There are obstacles to slide on or to jump over. The skater sees the quality of the ground, checks the spot for traffic and space, for his specific need of interaction with the environment. Kids have not yet developed certain categories in which way daily objects need to be used. A bench is nothing to just sit on, it is an opportunity to climb on, crawl underneath and do whatever type of exploration. Kids truly interact with our daily objects because they still are in the process of learning that language of interaction. They fall, they get hurt, they progress. What if a kid finds a branch on the floor? The opportunities seem almost endless.

Accidents happen mostly because we are not fluent in the interaction of our environment. And we were not fluent because we did not take the time to learn the language properly or we forgot certain words. Falling off a ladder because we could not balance properly. Slipping on the floor because we do not speak the language of friction well enough. Very often we are not fluent in the estimation of our abilities because we hardly train and test them.

So, we want to encourage you to interact with your environment. Jump, run, climb, balance. Use the daily obstacles in creative ways. Explore your abilities and become more proficient in the language of interaction. Creativity is a deep human desire. It is the expression of something deeper within us. Movement is an inherent part of life. Combining those two aspects will give your life a new quality.