Why Play?
Play gets a bad rep. Or actually let’s be honest, it get’s very little rep at all once you leave the world of play groups and playtime. It’s all “open this bill”, “make a decision on that thing”, “figure out what you should be doing with your life”. In short all very serious and very little play.
But as I have grown I have started to realise the ‘seriousness’ that comes with growing up isn’t necessarily always the seriousness that needs to be there, and sometimes growing up could not only be a little bit more playful because it’s fun, but because that play actually helps us be more of the grown ups we want to be.
With this in mind here are my top five reasons to play!
One: Play is a way to practice
Nobody want’s to be a beginner, getting things wrong sucks. But actually being a beginner at things is a great way to expand our horizons, realise what we are capable of and grow as a person (maybe even taller into more of a grown up). This is where play helps out. Because when you play you let yourself not be good at things, play isn’t about perfection it is about giving it ago. Play doesn’t require winning or losing, (don’t forget playing and games aren’t the same thing). Play isn’t even about how you play, it is that you play which counts. You might even consider it a ‘moving mindfulness’ as you practice your way through life.
Two: Play is experimentation
Do you remember science lessons at school when you first got your hands on a Bunsen Burner and one of those funny shaped vase things that were actually for mixing chemicals? Yes, experiments, but also if we’re all honest, it felt a bit like play.
That said, I am not really talking about chemical experimentation here. I am talking about every kind of experiementation, even the ones that don’t have a control group or hypothesis to prove or disprove. Play is a gateway to experimenting with things. It allows us to pick things up and put them down as wilfully as a two year old at play group. Want to see what you can do with the giant red truck, wait the sand might be more interesting so let’s put that down and go over there.
Yes exactly. Playing is precisely this ease of movement between ideas. No fear of being a quitter, or looking indecisive, no fear of trying something new only to find it doesn’t work. Because you’re not aiming to achieve anything you’re just playing. And playing is a point in and of itself. Which I think makes it the ideal way to experiment. No expectations just watching and see what happens when you let yourself free on success constraints.
Three: Play allows us to be flexible
I bet right now you are imaging a twister mat or Limbo. But whilst those games are the best that’s not the sort of flexibility I am talking about.
The joy of the lightness and experimentation that comes with play is that it can be applied to ideas, viewpoints and perspectives. It means we can put down and pick up ideas in conversation, put ourselves in other people’s shoes literally or metaphorically – What ever floats your boat. Because play by definition is not about rigidity, it allows us to try on lots of different roles, views and ways of being. And when we try on a different perspective we might just surprise ourselves with what we find there.
Four: Play = silly
Simple equation, I am sure you will remember it. When we let ourselves play, often we let our ‘sillier’ side come out, the one that wants to do voices, or sing everywhere we go, who doesn’t move in the way we were taught to move as adults, but might just skip or jump or Sebastain Foucault free run around the world.
Silly is lightness, it is perspective it is being able to see the serious and also see the fun. It is a way to create positive energy and try on new and different ways of being.
Five: Play connects
Again, not talking about Connect 4, although that is a great game to play. Because play has an energy and fun to it, it attracts and connects with other people. Me messing around means, that you can mess around and maybe we can both message around together (this sounds like I am coming on to you, I am not, unless you are the specific man who I live with and then yes, yes I am). The real power I see in connection and play is that we can create a different type of space to embody together. One filled with possibilities. The kind of space where we can suspend ‘the rules’ and instead enter a playful space where imagination, experimentation and fun are the guiding feelings. When we are here we meet each other as different humans, not trapped in a certain way of being or doing, but safely experimenting and playing alongside each other. Inspiring each other with creation, holding each other, encouraging each other to go and find a new way of being, and ultimately realising we are in this together, because together we create spaces that we can safely play, and maybe find something new or better as a result.