Physical Literacy Matter(s): An Ontological Reframing of Ambient Conditions

Physical literacy (PL) has gained significant traction across education, sport, recreation, and public health, yet many people still struggle to understand or recognize it in their everyday movement experiences. This paper argues that the challenge is not primarily theoretical but communicative: PL is often presented in ways that obscure its everyday presence. Drawing on Whiteheadian thought and metaphor theory, we reframe PL as both consequential and constitutive, something that matters and may be understood as matter. We propose PL as an ambient condition of human life, continually lived through embodied engagement with the material world. Using the metaphor of matter in three states: solid, liquid, and gas, we illustrate PL’s philosophical integrity, contextual fluidity, and often unseen, difficult-to-articulate nature. We conclude with an integrated model and principles for communicating PL while preserving conceptual rigor and broadening access, resonance, and connection with the concept.