A few weeks ago, my son came home from school telling me he saw a video in his violin class about kids that lived on a landfill in Paraguay.

We love Paraguay since our beloved Angie, the woman who essentially helped take care of our kids (i.e. took care of me) is from there.

When I dug further, these kids blew my mind.

What the world saw as trash, they saw as opportunity.

Out of cartons, they made violins. Out of buckets, they made drums.

Story after story, they turned the trash that surrounded them into instruments.

I was brought back to when I worked at UNICEF, visiting kids in the most remote pockets of West Africa or Latin America for my work in sports for development.

I watched them create soccer balls out of trash bags and twine.

Or tennis rackets out of empty plastic cartons, using a rock as the ball.

No matter where I went, despite the circumstances, I was floored by how both kids and adults want - NEED - to play.

Every single human needs to lose track of time and find moments of feeling free, especially when it’s hard.

What’s your thing? How do you play?

For the kids in Paraguay, it was music. A few years and one documentary later, these kids are traveling the world.

We saw them in Queens, NYC last week (with our beloved Angie) and I promised to share their story (and this pic).

More than recognizing how many people around this world are less fortunate, it’s a lesson in how many people also see opportunities, even in despair.

Or stay positive, even when it’s hard.

And my favorite part is that they continue to play, even when it seems impossible.

For me, these are healthy reminders to internalize...

And of course a way to remind you to keep playing!

With fierce love,
Alison