Playtime is Playtime

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the verb "play"? A dog chasing a frisbee? A child romping through your nicely raked pile of leaves? Or perhaps, you think of an actor in his role as a fierce super hero. Whatever it is that pops into your mind probably has something to do with creativity, joyfulness and energy.

We all need to play. As adults, we sometimes lose that sense of "footloose and fancy free." We're too serious all the time; we take ourselves too seriously and forget that we used to be children (and in many ways, still are). Children want to do nothing of play and use their imaginations to be creative or inventive. What is it about growing older that sucks that creativity, that ability to pretend or manifest something extraordinary, right out of our skulls? I'm not sure, but I'm here to tell you that you need to be creative, you need to have fun, you need to play! If we don't play, what's the fun in life? Go to work, make money, buy stuff, then sit in your house full of stuff and stare at it. Oooooooh wow....I'm on the edge of my seat just thinking about it.

For me, running and cooking are two things I do for play. For some people, both of these may sound like a lot of work and no fun at all. That's fair because I don't find building spreadsheets very appealling but I have several family members who find it unusually titillating. Regardless of your form of play, the fact is that you need to find something fun to do at least once a day. Otherwise, you're a boring human being. I heard a quote once that went something like this: "If you find yourself being bored, you are boring." Perhaps you've given up on life and you're okay to let it all pass you by; if that's the case, why the hell are you reading this?

Running, as I mentioned before, is a way for me to play everyday. This is my inner child's way of satisfying a need for physical exertion. On a run, I become disconnected from the world, from my adult life--it's my time to think, my time to dream, my time to be joyful and carefree. Also, because I run with my dog, Samson, there's a primal aspect to my running that is absent if he is not at my side. When we run together, we're running in a pack--it sounds silly, but sometimes I imagine we're hunting for our next meal and the faster we run, the sooner we eat. Part of this stems from the fact that I know this is how wolves and feral dogs get their food, but it's also fun to pretend to be an animal. Raise your hand if you ever played "dog" when you were a kid--you know, crawling around on all fours, barking, whining and otherwise carrying on like a crazed canine--don't deny it, we've all done it. Well, for me, running with my dog and visualizing us on the prowl is my grown-up version of "playing dog".

Cooking is another form of play but it satisfies my mental need for fun and creativity. It's like taking something ordinary and necessary and turning it into a work of art. Now, I'm not saying I'm an artist by any means, but in the manner of my inner child, I like to pretend that I am. When I pretend I'm cooking for someone important, my creativity takes flight as I imagine that he or she expects something mind-blowing; I can produce dishes that would be otherwise dull if I lacked the motivation caused by my imagination. (At the same time, this can be frustrating because I get rather irritated with myself if I get stuck in the weeds...but that's another story for another day.) The other side to cooking as play is that you litterally get to play with your food. All your life, your mother scolded you at the dinner table as you made an igloo with your mashed potatoes or a teepee with your asparagus; "Don't play with your food!" she would say with a look of distain in her eyes. But as a cook, people pay you to play with food; and as a chef I know loves to point out when people take cooking too seriously: "It's not even a legitimate job!" The notion of cooking as a profession is rather comical if you stop to think about it--it's just play, all day long. Sure it's a job and will be stressful at times, but come on...it's not life for death (well, not usually anyway!). So, the next time you're watching Top Chef or Hell's Kitchen, go ahead and laugh--these people take themselves way too seriously. They're playing with food for crying out loud...yet they apparently think to be a good cook they have to serious and egotistical-HA! Whatever man, get over yourself and look at what you do for a living. It's awesome, but it's not rocket surgery...

So my friends, don't forget to play today. Whether it's tea time with your 4-year-old niece, fetch with your dog or organizing your record collection by album release date. Do something that you think is fun!

And don't forget, you are a child, whether you're 8 or 80, so have fun, be creative, and play today. Your mind and your body will be better for the wear.

Never let anyone take your play away,

Sarah