Go play.
Summer always surprises me with a renewed sense of playfulness. My family gets together with several other families to play some fun and ridiculous games every year for the Fourth of July. The favorite for this year involved a shower cap, shaving cream and a bag full of cheesy puffs. Kids and adults fired away to see whose team could land the most cheesy puffs on the shaving cream covered targets. Who knew this could be so fun? We all got lost in the wonderful craziness of it and something life giving and authentic was found.
This type of spontaneous play is something children do so naturally. In fact, I believe it is their primary way of interacting with the world. They get lost in their play and this brings freedom, something we adults need so desperately. So, what is play and how do we as adults step back into this much needed terrain?
Play is something we choose to do with our time, taking us back to a child-like state and releasing us from our many adult concerns. I remember several instances where the beauty of play was seared into my memory, and light and free moments transcended the normal preoccupations of my mind. One of these memories involved skipping home with a good friend from a night meeting on my college campus. This simple, spontaneous act allowed us to let go of everything expected of us and, by engaging in true play, we were present in the moment. Play invites us to taste the goodness of doing something just to do it, completely free and unaware of the unique outcome in store. I have heard it said many times that the brain remembers strong emotion; I believe this is why one can easily recall the pure joy that comes from spontaneous play. In her book, The Art of Family, Gina Bria says this about play: "play provides new ways of being together, and not so as to escape ourselves, but to bring more of ourselves to each other."
Where could you incorporate more play into your life? How could play bring you closer to community? How might play awaken you to your worth? Adults, go and play.