Guess what? It's a proven, scientific fact. No more disputing it, no more telling people to "get serious" or "grow up" or whatever catch phrase miserable people decide to toss out like free candy at the St. Patrick's Day Parade...
It's true: Adults need play
And I'm not talking about playing video games, or lame office games to "build teamwork". I'm talking about pure, pointless, unadulterated silliness. Few rules, no expectations, and lots of running in circles. Remember the day when you could make a game out of the twig you found in the street? And the game would go on for hours! It is scientifically proven that adults need to spend time just being completely off-the-wall and playing like our kids do. It releases important chemicals into our brains that contribute to creativity, focus, happiness, problem-solving, analysis... you name it!
Have a huge important problem to solve? GO PLAY!
Need a new idea for your business expansion? GO PLAY!
Are the numbers on your data sheets starting to run together? GO PLAY!
I'd like to take this moment to thank Southwest Airlines for their interesting and informative reading material that I had no choice to read because there's nothing else interesting to do on an airplane, without which this post would not be possible.
So.... if play is so important for adults, why don't we have more spaces in which to do this? No, okay, well we have gyms, the outdoors with mountains to climb and rocks to scale, basketball teams, video games, art classes, etc. But these activities at the very least have rules, and at the very most have purposes. Can you think of even one game in the adult arena that is fun, pointless, ruleless, expectation-less, and allows you to joyfully run in circles? Sorry, Dave n Busters doesn't count cuz you get kicked out for running...
Well, I'm going to change this. You know how? I'm going to build a super adult mega-gym. That's right, you heard it. And it's not going to have a basketball court, or workout equipment, or classrooms.
It's going to be ONE HUGE ADULT-SIZED MCDONALD'S PLAYPLACE.
But that's not all! It's also going to have a huge open area, a box of balls, and a box of twigs. No rules except the ones you make up on your own - plenty of room to run in circles and throw balls at each other! (I'm sure many of you are familiar with that scenario, hehe). Ropes hanging from the ceiling, swings, jump ropes, and a huge plastic, rubber, and foam climbing area with ball pits to fall into, moving structures to fall off of, and nets to get stuck in.
Oh, and I'm going to call it "Go Play With Yourself".
I have always considered Frisbee to fit in this category, until I discovered that now they have leaugues and legions of adults playing serious very tense games of ... Frisbee. Your right, even the ones we used to have, like throwing a frisbee-the ultimate leisure no rules invention, has been ruined by our need for structure. I can't wait to go down your twisty adult tube slide. (oh, get your mind out of the gutter...pervs)
ReplyDeleteHahaha - nice! Yeah, dodgeball is the same way. ALTHOUGH I would definitely have dodgeball there, but it would be the version we played as kids - a circle of people around the outside with 10 or so in the middle and the only rule is you have to hit below the shoulders - not the pansy-ass one they have now with the teams on separate sides.
ReplyDeleteNot that I'm against competitive sports with rules. There's definitely a place for that, I just think we take ourselves too seriously sometimes and need to just play Duck Duck Goose or something to chill out, lol.