A Head Full of Everything. Gavin Oattes

on with nothing, opened my mouth and everything I had planned began to pour out my mouth. All the while knowing I was building towards my big hide‐and‐seek moment.

      ‘So, I'm going to shut my eyes and I'm going to count to 10. And you're going to hide.’

      There was a ripple of nervousness. In me, yes, but more so the auditorium!

‘The rules are you're not allowed to leave the room.’

      I'm thinking they'll all just sit there looking at me with a weird expression and this allows me to naturally roll into my main point that as adults we just don't play anymore the way we used to, because we grew up.

      ‘If you've never played hide‐and‐seek before then you've got exactly 10 seconds of me counting to Google it and get running.’

      I closed my eyes.

      ‘1 …’

      I hadn't even got to 2 seconds and all I heard was 300 seats pinging up and 300 people hitting the floor, leaping other seats, screaming, shoving, and laughing their heads off.

      Once again my inner voice kicked in …

      ‘Shit Gav, they're really doing it. You've got 300 people in a room at the poshest university in the world, it's a TEDx event, it's being filmed andthey're playing hide‐and‐seek. Like, actual hide‐and‐seek.’

      I shat it.

      What do I do?

      Then I had a moment.

      A moment of pure magic. And here it is …

Give people the chance to play and they'll take it.

      I'll repeat it.

      Give people the chance to play and they'll take it.

      Think about it. We love to play. You do, I do, we all do. And if you don't love to play then you've never played properly. You've being doing it wrong. Or you've forgotten. I reckon lots of people the world over have forgotten how to play and what it actually feels like to be in that moment.

      But how often are you given the chance nowadays as a teenager? We're not wee kids anymore, we need our hand held. It's all back to front. You were once 4 and knew exactly what to do, right? But some teenagers have grown up and they've forgotten.

      Forgotten how to play. Forgotten how to be in the moment. Forgotten how to see the fun in everything.

      Maybe it's a confidence thing. Confidence to enjoy the journey, to create, build and grow … like the seed in the quote above.

      But just like the seed we need water, space to move and grow, natural light, nourishment, looking after, help, encouragement.

      And again, just like the seed, in time we become stronger, healthier, fresher, full of life, energy, magic and wonder.

      But it's a marathon, not a sprint. Nothing will ruin your teens more than thinking you should have your life together already.

Let's repeat that. Nothing will ruin your teens more than thinking you should have your life together already.

      And yes, I said magic and wonder.

       “Did you even have a childhood if you never sat round the kitchen table at a party with a Cadbury’s chocolate bar frantically waiting to roll a 6 so you could throw on your hat, scarf and gloves and begin demolishing chocolate with a knife and fork?”

       —Anon