Daily Wisdom 06-12-2002 Teach Us to Play

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Teach Us to Play

Response to a column I wrote, "What are you doing for fun?"was fairly revealing about our current society and lifestyle. Many readers wrote to say it "struck a chord" with them. To me that means that aside from a few people who maybe need to work harder, many people of my generation need to relearn how to play.

I had to laugh one day at an error message that came up on my computer: "Your system is low on virtual memory." I'm not sure what virtual memory is exactly but I sure know when my human memory isn't working. Lack of concentration and memory is one indicator of overloaded circuits.

One woman wrote in response to the column, "I [thought] just this morning about how much I am NOT having fun. It is not easy to totally relax. There is so much to do, too much at stake. I am a full-time worker with two kids, ages three years and six months, and also a part-time student in a graduate degree [program]. It is not easy to have fun. ... I am going to ask God to teach me to play and have fun..."

This is not just a problem in North America. From Budapest: "Though I live in a small country in Europe, I think the problem of middle-age women with a profession, family, and any other duties can be very similar. Your column gave a small light in our busy lives."

Then from the heartland of North America, Ohio, a woman writes, "I am an Amish widowed mother of seven children. My husband died October 9, 2001. So my days sometimes seem all uphill. But sometimes it goes better. My children are ages 16, 14, 12, 10, 7, 4 and almost 2." (And you thought you were busy!)

Another woman wrote, "This was just what I needed to hear. I work 40 hours a week (with my job currently transitioning into a new, more responsible position), have a large sales business on the side, and am a single mom that commutes 1-1 ½ hours each way to work." She had just decided to give up her side business even though she really enjoyed it, because, "Both my fulltime position and my family were suffering. It's time for me to play."

Finally, a reader from Singapore shares her experience and offers all of us a way to get our lives back in balance. "I want to thank you for the message on having fun. For the past month I have been tied down by work and demands by my boss. He is stressed and he passed it to me and I got all worked up. I thank God for a recent incident that shook me up, to go back to the basics: spending quiet time with God and my four-year- old daughter. Though I have tons of work waiting for me, I think I better place God and my family as top priority."

Why not take a June day and declare for yourself a mini-vacation, right at home. Sunday afternoon is a good time if you have no time other days. Just sit and watch the dog, or butterflies, or birds, or flowers. I would suggest not even reading or watching TV for at least a part of your mini-vacation. Force yourself to do nothing, and be still with your thoughts.

If you have small (or even older) children, take time to do nothing but play with them. Hang out with your teenagers: if they can't stand silence, lounge in their room if they'll let you and listen to their music, or watch them play a computer game. Give or receive a backrub from them or your spouse. These are all little ways to wind down and relearn the restorative power of play.

Contributed by Melodie Davis from her weekly columnANOTHER WAY (http://www.thirdway.com/aw/).For information on using Another Way in a local newspaper, contact:ANOTHER WAY, 1251 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801-2497; or call1-800-999-3534; fax at 540-434-5556; or email me at:Melodie@mennomedia.org