Tell Us About WHIMSY
Posted on by Debbie

Tell Us About…Whimsy

All about Whimsy

Whimsy is one of those words that can be hard to pin down.

To me, whimsy is a form of creative expression that is playful, imaginative and often unexpected. It’s a style that celebrates the joy and magic of life, drawing inspiration from nature, fantasy and humour. Think fairy tales and dreams, magical lands and fantasy creatures, quirky characters and whimsical patterns.

Grant on bike
Grant on his bike with a magical sky!

Whimsy is also a mindset, a way of seeing the world with wonder and curiosity, of exploring the unknown and embracing the unexpected. It encourages us to step outside of the mundane and explore the possibilities of the impossible, to see the beauty in the unusual and the humour in the everyday. And isn’t that a great way to live?

So my advice is…whether you’re a whimsical artist, designer, writer or simply someone who loves to incorporate a touch of whimsy into your life, embrace the playful spirit of whimsy and allow it to bring joy, magic and wonder into your world. I know it’s helped me appreciate the everyday beauty in my life.

[He] said he didn’t think we should be afraid to embrace whimsy. I asked him what he meant by whimsy, and he struggled to define it. He said it’s that nagging idea that life could be magical; it could be special if we were only willing to take a few risks.

Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

Through the eyes of a child

We’ve just had my grandchildren visit for Easter and their play, imagination, stories and joy of life was a perfect example of whimsy. They are only young but live in a magical world where one minute in the game we’re playing I’m a baby and they’re a princess and the next minute a big dragon is coming to get us.

We lived in cubby houses made up of blankets, we dressed up, read books, played games, hunted for Easter eggs and went for walks in the enchanted forest and this Granny loved every minute of it.

We visited a local attraction in the forest that has recently been upgraded to include a Nature Wellness Walk. There were two new installations which we took advantage of – the Sky Seat and the Listening Pod.

The Sky Seat is a wavy bench that you lie down on and look up at the tall trees waving above you while drinking in the quiet of nature around you. The Listening Pod is a timber pod shape that you climb into to ‘break out of your sensory ruts and supercharge your awareness’. We all climbed in, made ourselves comfortable and listened to the sounds around us, birds, trees, rain and wind. As the sign said, it’s a great way to notice things that we normally miss.

We listened for fairies, dragons and the big bad wolf…

I don’t know about you, but I think there’s a touch of whimsy in these installations too.

trying out the listening pod
me taking in the view from the sky seat
Family shot in the listening pod
looking up from the sky seat
the sky seat
the listening pod

Previous Whimsical posts

Would you believe I’ve written four posts that include the word whimsy or whimsical over my 11 years of blogging – who would have thought!? And they’re all VERY different.

What is ‘Tell Us About…’ about?

Tell Us About…is a relatively new monthly opportunity for bloggers to showcase their creativity. Each month one of the co-hosts will choose the word to focus on. It started in January 2023 with Gail’s prompt of Time, February was my choice of Play, March was Jill’s prompt about Scent, and April is Whimsy courtesy of MK.

On the third Thursday of every month we’ll respond to the prompt “Tell Us About xxx” which could be absolutely anything. And how we respond is also wide open.  It could be a blog post with our opinions or reminiscences; a poem,  photos, a short story or whatever takes your fancy – it could even be a mix of all these!

We encourage you to write your own post around this prompt. Interpret it any way you please, with a reminiscence, an opinion, photos, a poem, a story or whatever inspires you.

We are:

Our posts go live on the third Thursday of each month at 7am UK time (that’s 4pm on the same day in Australia). There is a linky at the end of my post, which you can join, and you’re encouraged to spend some time exploring what others have written and leave a comment if you feel like it. I hope you can join us!

Final thoughts

What are your thoughts on whimsy, does it have a place in your life?

Thanks for visiting and hopefully you’ll be inspired to join in!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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Smiles 🙂

Deb xx

Coming Up Soon:

  • What’s on Your Bookshelf #WOYBS – Friday 21 April 2023
  • What’s Been on Your Calendar #WBOYC – Friday 28 April 2023

Recent posts from Deb’s World

You can also find Deb’s World in lots of other places – stay in touch by clicking any of the buttons below.

Everyone has a story to tell!

Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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28 Replies to “Tell Us About…Whimsy”

  2. I agree that whimsy is a mindset. When I chose the “look” of my blog, I wanted something that looked a bit whimsical because I felt like I wanted more whimsy in my life. That book sounds good. I listened to a book by Donald Miller last month that was really good..Scary Close. I’m going to look into this one. Grandkids definitely help us create whimsy don’t they!!

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  7. When I think of whimsy, I think of you, jumping for joy in the puddle a few years back. That made me smile. That was a whimsical and carefree action that I would often sadly avoid. You inspire me to try to be more whimsical and carefree. And like you, my grandchildren bring that out in me.

    What a great experience in that nature walk. I am anxious for my grands to be just a bit older in order to hike with us some. Hope they will enjoy it and that we will still be able to hike when they come of that age!!

    Glad to see the link up is open a while longer. Will try to get my post written. XO

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    1. That’s so sweet of you Leslie, I love that I can be inspiring when I think I am just living my best life 🙂 I look forward to reading your thoughts on whimsy too!

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  8. Yes, young children live in the realm of whimsy, and isn’t wonderful! I loved hearing about the games and adventures with your grandchildren. The Donald Miller quote is lovely. Such a fun and happy post!

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  9. Pingback: Whimsy: The Art of Yarn Bombing! - Following My Muse

  10. Hi Deb – children and art always create whimsy for me – it’s been a theme throughout my collaging and it’s been fun to open myself to it more. The grandgirls have been here for a visit and listening to them create their own little make-believe worlds always gives me a smile.

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    1. Yes Leanne, your collaging and art is a fun way to have whimsy in our life. The grandgirls visit would have been a wonderful time for you all, exploring their make believe worlds. Emilia’s latest thing is ‘let’s pretend’ and we run with it!

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  11. That top photo is just beautiful. Stunning. And yes, for me, Whimsy is almost that thing that children have and we can only attain from time to time….it’s sort of a sad world that we neglect until it’s too late for us to get back to it again. Maybe with grandkids you find a key for a bit…

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    1. Thanks Lydia, your post really nailed whimsy!!! That photo says magical and fantasy to me, a good use of a sky filter, sorry to disappoint you if you thought it was a real sky behind my husband on his bike). I agree children have whimsy in spades and we all should have more of it in our lives.

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  13. HI Deb, I love the word ‘whimsy’ and yes our grandchildren certainly know how to embody the word. I could tell you were having great fun over the Easter break with them. Let’s see more ‘whimsy’ in the world – it could certainly do with some at the moment. I’ve joined up with my idea of Whimsy for the link up and hope to join in next month. xx

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    1. Hi Sue, I think children in general have whimsy down pat! As grandparents we then get a glimpse and can join in their magical worlds. I’m with you, let’s see more whimsy in the world! I’m so glad you wrote a post and joined in with us, such a good post too 🙂

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  15. What a joyful post. You’ve approached whimsy as a state of mind whereas I was being a bit left brained and trying to nail it as a concept. I’m not sure whimsy can be nailed down!

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    1. Thanks so much Gail! Whimsy was certainly an interesting prompt and I enjoyed reading your post too. It’s great how we all approach things differently and I love seeing our personalities shine through our posts. You’re right, whimsy can’t be nailed down but we’ve covered many examples between us all!

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