Sunday, August 9, 2009

Stories of Play

Last Saturday night, I spent the entire evening with my five year old friend, Aria, combing and styling hair on the nine little ponies in the picture above. It took us a couple of hours to comb knots out of the ponies' tails, braid their manes, curl their tails and top each style off with matching flower-barretts. I was completely entranced by the project, because, somehow, I missed doing all those little girl things as a child.

Now, as an adult, I'm fascinated with play. Ever notice how children burst onto the scene of each new day, full of expectation for fun and joy. Why can't adults enter a child's world of play? We might be better at stopping wars and sharing love if we could play like a child does.
In "Fun and Importance of Play: Why Adults Need to Play Too," Elizabeth Scott explains that in the process of playing, we express our creativity. She observes that when you or I get engrossed in an activity that's enjoyable, we "experience a state of being know as flow, in which your brain is in a near-meditative state, which has benefits for your for your body, mind and soul."

Along with being good for us, play is a gesture at the world, at others who share it with us. When others are playful, they are trying to engage with us in a positive, healing way. And, it's natural to do this--just look at the way the pink hibiscus in this picture seems to reach across the screen to elicit appreciation for its beauty and anticipation of the new flowers that have yet to open their petals.
Writers play with words--to be a good writer, one has to devote large chunks of time to writing, revising, playing around with the words to create meaning on the page. Poet William Carlos Williams' work is very playful. His poem "This is Just to Say," lures the reader into the work with a title that suggests or implies the subject is a serious one. Once he's set up the reader's expectations for a contemplative work, he takes the poem in a different direction. Defying readers' expectations is his way of playing with poems.

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me.
They were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

This poem is meant to be read aloud, to be experienced, as all good poetry is meant to be. Experienced.

Deepok Chopra explains the connection between experience and sound, when he asserts that all the letters of the alphabet create vibrations that are connected to nature. "These are the sounds of of the wind, of fire crackling, of thunder, of the river rushing by, of ocean waves crashing on the shore" (The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, 171). "Nature," he notes, "is vibration."

If nature is vibration, aren't we close to a meditative state when we play and sing to the world with joy, like children.

3 comments:

Jen said...

Love it Jane, as always! Such a fun thing to think about! Glad you got a good picture of the My Little Ponies!

#1Mom said...

I love the analogy to nature and innocence. Now if only my mind can keep up with the mouth.
I'll try for more peaceful rushing waters and less thunder and lightening. :-)

Tricia said...

You sure know how to play Jane! Love your blog!!