Let's Play

“Life must be lived as play.” - Plato

Almost every day of the summer I asked my 7-year old daughter, Kaya, how her day was. At six you shouldn’t really have “bad” days. Her response was pretty much the same every day, “Good…” Needing a little more, I asked a second question, “So, what did you do?” Her response to that was simply, “Play”. There was no need for further questions. She summed up her day in two words.

Although, I didn’t an explanation from her the simplicity of the word Play intrigued me. I remember friends coming to the house and asking if I could come out to play. Sometimes we didn’t even really do anything. We were just outside and moving. Everything we did was considered play. I suspected that Kaya’s reference to play was probably the same. We all remember playing as a child. But, what did we do? We ran, we jumped, we rode bikes, and we played sports. Today adults refer to such activities as "exercise".

I was curious. So, I looked up the word play in the dictionary. One of the definitions supported my reason for writing this article (recreational activity; especially : the spontaneous activity of children). Why is playing an activity reserved for children? Over the summer, I had my moon bounce obstacle course at a community day. It’s 61 feet long, big enough for children and adults. When I told the parents they could join their children, a lot of them said, “I’m too old to do that”.  Translated, it means I’m way too out of shape. That’s a completely different topic – or is it? Perhaps, the obesity problem, both adults and children, is related to the lack of play. Let’s face it. Even kids today aren’t really playing as much as they used to.

Is there a certain age in which we as adults should stop playing? Is there some predetermined age in which we are supposed to stop moving and just sit and watch our kids do what we used to do - play? Robin Sharma said it best, “Adults are nothing but deteriorated children.” But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Have we become too serious to play? Have the responsibilities that we assume as adults crippled us? We enjoyed play as children, and we should enjoy it as adults, too.  Stop being concerned with “looking silly” or “being too old” and have some fun. Loosen up, and do something spontaneous and silly.  Your act may make someone laugh, which is something else adults don’t do enough.

Laugh smile, live, and play.

David E. Cox, ACE-CPT, is a personal trainer that has dedicated his life to helping to improve the lives of others through exercise and healthy living. He is owner of Positive Vibes Fitness, a private personal training studio in Glen Burnie, MD where we educates, motivates, and inspires people from all walks of life. Be sure and sign up for his monthly eNewsletter, The Vibe, at www.positivevibesfitness.com