Play – The Key to Staying Young at Heart!

Remember when you were a little kid, and hours would go by without you even knowing? How did that happen?

You were ‘PLAYING’. Whatever it was for you – cars, trucks, Barbie, doctors & nurses, rubbing the inside of your mates undies with ‘tiger balm’ (ouch!) etc etc, you certainly weren’t worrying about work, money or anything else we worry about as adults.

Edward Hallowell – Harvard Medical School Instructor – says the opposite of play isn’t work, he says, it’s rote, or doing exactly what you’re told to do.

Play is critical to your health & well-being, stimulates your creativity & spontaneity and is integral to experiencing a joyful life.

It is also one the best activities for creating the much sought-after “flow-state,” In this ‘peak state’, you lose all sense of self and time and you become one with the activity.

This ‘play state’ is highly correlated to both staying ‘young at heart’, and literally ‘staying young'(transcending the aging process).

Many of us however, have forgotten ‘to play’ because of excessive ‘organised activities’, technology & the demands of modern life.

TIP:

Go and do something purely for fun. Maybe something you only used to do as a kid.

Whatever it is, don’t score, time yourself, rate yourself or do anything other than PLAY… for ‘pure enjoyment’. E.g. paint or draw (maybe with your kids) write a poem, ride a bike, go ten pin bowling, play an instrument, build a sand castle, go dancing, play a sport you love – basketball, tennis etc (without scoring) play with your partner/spouse (i didn’t mean like, but hey if it gets you ‘in the zone’!!!) just play spontaneously…play play play.

Life is really nothing more than a game. We take it all so seriously, but it shouldn’t be. Quit being an adult for an hour, a day, a week, and just have some fun. This week have a PLAY.

LAUGH OF THE WEEK: SPEAKING OF CHILD’S PLAY

The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers.

He dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whispered, “Hello?”

Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster the boss asked, “Is your Daddy home?” “Yes”, whispered the small voice.

“May I talk with him?” the man asked.

To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, “No.”

Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your Mommy there?”

“Yes”, came the answer. “May I talk with her?” Again the small voice whispered, “No.”

Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child.

“Is there any one there besides you?” the boss asked the child.

“Yes” whispered the child, “a policeman.”

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked,

“May I speak with the policeman?” “No, he’s busy,” whispered the child.

“Busy doing what?” asked the boss.

“Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman”, came the whispered answer.

Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter
through the ear piece on the phone the boss asked, “What is that noise?”

“A hello-copper” answered the whispering voice.

“What is going on there?” asked the boss, now alarmed.

In an awed whispering voice the child answered,

“The search team just landed the hello-copper.”

Alarmed, concerned, and more than just a little frustrated the boss asked,

“What are they searching for?”

Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle:

“Me!”