Play More
In every real man a child is hidden who wants to play. – Friedrich Nietzche
Do you know how to play? Children do it intuitively, but many people leave this innocent pleasure behind on the path to adulthood. Some become too mature and dignified. Others plan only to win, not to simply have fun.
Playing “just for the fun of it” is hard for most adults. When our grandchildren came along, I felt justified once again in romping, rollicking and roughhousing; in buying games, puzzles and building blocks; and in taking time to do nothing but be silly. Now I know I don’t need an excuse to make playing a part of my life! In fact, if I want to flourish as a writer, speaker and human being, it’s essential that I respect the diversion that play offers. Playing for fun provides extraordinary freedom and a temporary escape from reality—crucial for creativity and well-being.
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Watch children genuinely celebrate life with their games and antics. I remember our children’s delight as they gathered adults together to present a variety show on a makeshift stage. These days, my husband and I enjoy watching our grandchildren spend hours playing make-believe in a tent made from blankets over chairs or exploring the woods in our backyard.
Children have the capacity to plunge into life with a sense of awe and wonder. Perhaps it’s time to reactivate those marvelous feelings of childlike pleasure. Whether it’s riding a merry-go-round, building a sand castle, making mud pies, having a squirt gun fight, rolling down a grassy hillside, watching fireworks, or enjoying the swings, slide and teeter-totter at a local park, play is a marvelous diversion from the stressors of life. In fact, good, frolicking, let-down-your-hair fun is essential for mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health.
So plan a trip to the circus, have a snowball fight, create a daisy chain, roller skate on the sidewalk, play hopscotch, make angels in the snow, go for a hayride, or fly a kite. Find a symbol of playfulness—a picture of frolicking puppies, a clown sticker, a red balloon, a happy-face pin—and keep it with you. View each day as a breathless voyage of discovery. As Mae West reminded us, “You’re never too old to become younger!”
