Shuttlecocks and Belly Laughs: Work, Play, and the Power of Pause 🌿🏸✨

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What if the key to a more fulfilling life isn't about squeezing more productivity from every minute but rather making space for unscheduled joy? Join me as I share the surprising lessons I've learned from playing impromptu badminton games with my husband on the narrow green strip between our cottage and the lake.

These spontaneous matches—where he strategically positions me with the wind at my back, sends the birdie soaring into tree branches, and lunges dramatically for returns while I laugh until I cry—have become a treasured ritual. You won't find these games on our calendars or to-do lists. They serve no purpose beyond the moment itself, yet they've become invaluable to our wellbeing.

Through these playful interludes, I've discovered that while I deeply believe in hard work and dedication, success isn't defined solely by hours logged, words written, or money earned. There's diminishing value in working so relentlessly that we're too exhausted to enjoy the rewards. Paradoxically, when we return from these breaks, we find ourselves more energized and connected—not just to each other, but to whatever we're focusing on. We may put the "bad" in badminton with our lack of skill, but as I like to say, the score is always "love-love." I encourage you to find your equivalent of lakeside badminton—that activity that brings you pure, purposeless joy. Your productivity (and your heart) might just thank you for it.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey there.
So I play badminton with myhusband on a narrow green strip
between our cottage and the lake.
He lets me stand with the windbehind my back so that I have
the best chance of returning hisserve.
He loves to whack the birdiehigh into the tree branches as I
crane my neck trying to guesswhere it will parachute down.

(00:21):
As I crane my neck trying toguess where it will parachute
down, and if I manage to catchit before it hits the ground, we
feel this surge of delight andconnection.
As it flies back toward him inthe blue blue sky.
He lunges for even the mostimpossible returns, rolling to

(00:42):
the ground like a Martha Grahamdancer as I laugh until I cry.
Sometimes I swear I can see theflowers leaning away from his
wild swatting, fearing for theirpurple petals.
I smile though, as he patstheir delicate heads gently and
our cats observe from thewindowsill.

(01:05):
We play often, but there's noscheduled time.
You won't find our spontaneousshuttle cocking on either of our
to-do lists or calendars.
Our game is unattached tooutcome and well, at least from
the outside, doesn't move us anycloser to any goals or

(01:27):
aspirations.
But the added value of thisunplanned daily intermission is
immense, and it doesn't cost apenny a penny.
I believe deeply in hard work,dedication and proactivity.

(01:47):
What I'm learning, though, isthat, at least for me, success
is not defined only by hours,logged, money earned, words
written or credits accumulated.
Where's the value in working sohard that even our most

(02:08):
productive days simply leave usfeeling spent and unable to reap
the rewards of our hard work?
I am so very fortunate andgrateful to love my work, and
sometimes I find it difficult topull myself away, but I'm
always glad that I did.

(02:29):
Who knows, who knows how muchmight have gotten done if we
hadn't chosen to take the timeto play.
Well, what I do know is that,when my husband and I return to
our work, we feel more energizedand connected to each other, to

(02:50):
ourselves and to whatever it iswe want to focus on.
I smile at the joy my husbandand I have accumulated playing
shuttlecock on the green grassby the lake.
We're not very good at it youcould even say we put the bad in
badminton but I wouldn't tradeour shuttle cocking for anything

(03:14):
in the world.
We don't play with a net or haveany idea how to count points,
but if you asked me how to countpoints.
But if you asked me, I'd saythe score is always love, love.
I'm Lisa Hopkins.
Thanks so much for listening.
I cannot encourage you enoughto put some play in your life

(03:39):
today.
So much love and light.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and remember to live in the
moment.