Play!

May 10, 2020

"Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive!" Bugs Bunny

Do you want to get better at something?? Pretend you are already good at the activity or skill you want to master. Experiment. Play.

Adults are serious about everything. It's a serious world. Maybe too serious. Play at succeeding. How would you act? How would you feel? Playing at something lets you go straight into the feeling state of your chosen activity. Using a playful imagination adds a dynamic dimension to your learning and ultimate success. Play generates a lightness of being that puts your body-mind into an easier flow. It's more fun AND more effective to use play to achieve goals.

There once was a great ad for Redi Whip set at a holiday meal celebration. One elderly gent at the adult table squirmed uncomfortably immersed in discussions of aches, pains, mortgages, the stock market and his figgy pudding. At the kids table they were cheering, sitting upside down on their chairs, throwing confetti and squirting Redi Whip. They were having fun! Suddenly the man stands up, throws down his napkin and says, "That's it. I'm outta here." He goes to the kids table, sits in a folding chair and has fun!! He joins the living and leaves the living dead!!

Play at your day!! Whistle while you work!! Even if what you are doing is deadly serious...play at it...you will do much better!!

I remember reading a story about Sir Edmund Hillary, the first mountaineer to successfully scale Mount Everest before climbers had all the fancy equipment they have today. At one point, the climbing party faced a dangerous passage close to the summit. Everyone was worried they wouldn't survive the precarious next challenge. After resting a moment, preparing to face the danger ahead, Hillary cracked a joke. All the climbers laughed, the tension broke and and the rest is history. They successfully reached the top of Everest.

This story is similar to a scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where Butch and Sundance being chased by the law, get cornered with no escape but to jump from a high cliff into the rushing river below. Their lives are at stake. As they peer over the edge of the cliff and contemplate the jump, Butch asks Sundance what's wrong and Sundance groans to Butch, "I don't know how to swim!!" Butch laughs back at Sundance and says, "Well, don't worry about THAT. The jump will probably kill you!!" With that they leap over the edge of the cliff, survive the plunge and float down the river to safety. Very likely, the belly laugh and release of tension loosened up their bodies to survive the jump.

Even when in dire straits... playing and imagining your way out of a dilemma, actually helps.

When life is deadly serious, you can let go and realize that no one really knows the ultimate purpose of this mystery called life. We could win our battle today and the world could explode into a million pieces tomorrow. Lighten up! Be the hero or heroine of your drama. All the world's a stage.

Here we are drifting around on this beautiful jewel in the sky. Many specialists profess to be experts of the human condition, but today's experts often become tomorrows losers. Without an open, fluid, curious mind, we lose sight of the fact that life remains a mystery no matter how many laws and scientific principles we discover. Be humbled by life's mystery. Don't ever assume you understand it all. That's the first step to becoming stupid. If you remain curious and humble, maybe the Universe will reveal some of her secrets to you.

Play opens up possibilities we cannot access when too serious. Hard to do when your boss is yelling at you or the world seems to be falling apart, but if you can bring some measure of play to your experience, it may loosen you up and help you succeed at this game called life.

The door to another realm of experience is right in front of us...right beside us...exists in this same space as the tension and stress and anger and turmoil. Step back. See it. Lighten up. See the humor and ridiculousness of too much seriousness. Play to win. Play to live well. Play to protect your values and essence. Play your heart out, but don't forget to have fun along the way.