The Living Gently Philosophy
A Playful Life

We humans call our species homo sapien, thinking man, but many anthropologists believe that a better choice may have been homo ludens, playing man. Play, or recreation, can cover many facets of our life, including our work, and in doing so, give us new energies and pathways to fulfillment.

Leisure is usually defined as: the time one spends free from the demands of work or duty required for the maintenance of life.

Recreation is defined by the dictionary as: refreshment by means of some pastime, agreeable exercise or diversion.

Often, recreation, play and leisure are defined by what they are supposedly not -- and that is work. Neither definition quite fills the bill. And to define them as the opposites of work does an injustice to the true natures of both work and play. For example, is eating work or leisure? Can it be recreation or play? Are any jobs play, or are they all work? Can work (i.e. vocation) also be leisure or recreation?

I would prefer to define leisure as time spend doing an activity I choose at a pace of my choosing. The word recreation needs to be taken apart and looked at as Re - Creation: to make anew, to revitalize, to inspire with new life and energy. And finally, I define play as a form of self-nourishment, a transformation of time and activity to a higher level. Play is more than just something we do to fill time but an attitude we create to transcend the mundane aspects of living, a raison d'etre that separates humans from ants.

The opposite of play, therefore, is not work but excessive seriousness. Work is only not play when, to paraphrase my brother, they have to pay you to do it. Here is where the line between work and play becomes fuzzy, so it is best we do not think of work and play as a dichotomy, meaningful activity in opposition to frivolous activity or laziness. In a healthy and fulfilling life, work and play should meld as closely as yin and yang: two parts of a complete whole. I can work leisurely and I can play leisurely. I can derive recreation from an activity that seems to some like work. And I may even earn something -- including money — from a play activity. Many of us have sought and found our vocation in activities we once considered recreations. But too often we lose the element of play we once experienced due to the need for an employer to turn a profit or an overemphasis on seriousness in the workplace.

Recreation was once a big part of community work such as barn-raising, quilting bees and corn-shucking, growing out of the human need for celebration. In those activities, when work was shared with others, elements of play were included: conversation, singing and laughter during the work phase followed by celebration of the accomplishment afterward with music, games, feasting, story-telling and dance.

Recreation has also been a part of education. It still is for many children and adults as the popularity of educational toys and activities emphasizes. Many of the first sporting events were educational games in which hunters could hone their skills and exhibit their prowess to the community. Today sport is the hunt, with big dollar rewards to the skillful instead of meat.

Unfortunately, the nature of recreation has changed over the past half century. Where we once experienced joy sharing the doing of recreation with family and friends, we now buy most of our recreation and entertainment, at times sharing it with other fans who have become our surrogate family/friends. Whole industries have emerged to cater to our desires for recreation and leisure. The variety of choices available to us seems unlimited. At times unlimited choice may be more of a detriment than a blessing as recreation marketers sell instant gratification. We jump from choice to choice in the same manner we endlessly surf the television channels for that one show which will give us true enjoyment and which we so rarely find.

Instead of using recreation and leisure to slow our body and mind down to the pace nature intended, we spend our leisure time at the same frenzied pace as we work our jobs. Instead of being time for re-creation, we spend our leisure hours in rapid pursuit of the Holy Grail of Gratification. Norman Vincent Peale worried, "America has become so tense and nervous it has been years since I've seen anyone sleep in church, and that is a sad situation."

In the later half of the past century, we were offered the promised carrot of more leisure time on the end of a long stick. But as the end of the Twentieth Century approaches, only the smart few have realized the promise. North Americans and the Japanese, in particular, are shown the leisure carrot while being hit with the Protestant work ethic stick: Work hard so you can enjoy life. Caught between these conflicting injunctions, it is no wonder that so many turn to mind-numbing chemicals or diversions to remedy our dilemma.

The way we use leisure time can be one of the most challenging responsibilities we undertake. As for me I often use leisure and recreation as time for self-improvement, finding satisfaction and achievement in pursuing worthwhile goals. Over and over again, I have seen study results show that meaningful activity is essential to happiness and longevity. I take time to re-create because I know it results in better health and productivity.

But just as often I use my leisure time to stop and watch a bird bathing or a storm building. I watch with envy a small child lost in the joy of play. I sit quietly, do nothing and live in the focus of the moment. And I am okay with doing that.

The variety of leisure activities takes many forms: games, artistic expression, creative endeavours, exploring curiosity. One of my favourite recreations is walking. My challenge to each of you is to find your interest and follow it.

The Living Gently Philosophy: A Playful Life by Keith C. Heidorn, PhD . ©2003, All Rights Reserved.

Living Gently Quarterly is written and published by Keith C. Heidorn ©2005, All Rights Reserved. Correspondence may be sent to: email: see@islandnet.com.

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