Thoughts on Play – Part IV
Here are a couple more ideas which largely stem from Jurgen Moltmann’s Theology of Play:
Play is a celebration of life lived to the fullest. So many people seem stuck in life, waiting to begin living some day in the future. When was the last time you laughed until you cried? Can you remember? “Do you insist on being one of those nice, dead people who continue to spend most of their time preparing to live?” (Hansel) Play teaches us to recognize life TODAY as a gift, to embrace and enjoy it, rather than seeing everything as a dress rehearsal for a drama that never actually begins. Your life is unfolding NOW. Instead of planning to begin living one day, playing gives us a way to embrace life and live it to the full.
In play we emulate God’s actions who did not create the universe because it was a necessity. God is playful. God is creative. When you are creative and playful, when you work and rest in a rhythmic dance, you are like God. It’s impossible to play all the time, if we’re talking about real play. One can fritter away time or engage in silliness all the time – but that is not play. Play loses its luster and meaning if it is not punctuated by times of meaningful work, sorrow, and well, real life. So the goal isn’t “more and more and more play.” Someone who plays too much without the balance of work is not like God and will therefore be off kilter. Conversely, and this is the one most of need to pay attention to -- someone who works hard and constantly without creativity or whimsy or play is not very much like God at all.
Tomorrow I’ll post two more nuggets from Moltmann.