THE JOY OF PLAY

It’s good to catch up with old friends, so I was delighted this week to share a few emails with my old flame and confidant, the author Teresa Moorey. It seems an age ago since we both attended an astrology course run by the late Charles Harvey, a field in which Teresa received much acclaim in later years.

The emails were prompted by a poem that I had posted on my website. It was one that had been written whilst at university with her and I was surprised and quite honoured that she remembered it. However, the communication brought with it some sad news that her mother had recently died and that her sister for whom I felt a great fondness, had died last year. With the news, Teresa shared a beautiful moment with me. She wrote of ‘being’ with her sister shortly after her death saying, “She was in a wonderful landscape where the colours seemed to shine out of the grass and trees, and there was a succession of bridges behind her.  She stood in the meadow, younger looking and happy, and I said ‘What are you going to do now, Annie?’  ‘Play’ she replied.”

I was very moved by the vision. It was a reminder not only of the greater reality that lies beyond this world but of the joy that play can bring into our very essence. Perhaps it was something that had been missing for Annie as it seems to be for so many people. As we get older and become ‘grown ups’ we often loose the ability to play with the freedom of a child. We become concerned that we have to display and preserve an image befitting our age, profession or perceived status in the world. In short, we can become if not boring, then too serious. Sometimes it’s good just to let go and remember the innocence of childhood.

Whilst contemplating these matters, I thought of the many different attitudes towards ‘appropriate’ adult behaviour and recalled an interesting conversation that I had earlier in the year. I had been fortunate enough to attend a Mennonite wedding in Missouri. My great niece, a member of the faith, was getting married and there was a large gathering of the clan. During a lengthy discussion with a rather fierce looking but thoroughly charming individual with a long dark beard, black waistcoat and straw hat, I asked about the Mennonite attitude towards sport. The young people at the pre-wedding   banquet were all playing volley ball but no adults joined in the fun. I was told that people in his church believed that games and sport in general were child like and that when one became an adult, it was frowned upon to take part.

I found that hard to understand but in varying degrees, it is an attitude that is not restricted to the gracious and hospitable Mennonite people. Sometimes in the business world, one wonders what happened to a sense of humour and a youthful spirit. I feel that one should remember that to play with the enthusiasm of a child does not in itself make one ‘childish’ and, indeed, that play is something we all need in our lives along with a generous dose of laughter.