I had to stop and look at the contraption as I encountered it; a mish mosh of brightly colored ropes and plastic tubes and swings.

Back in the day, I suppose this was called a jungle gym, an apparatus that invited kids to stretch and climb and swing or just hang out within the safety of a backyard, a modest prop in fueling an Olympic Games fantasy under the watchful eyes of a parent.

But, and I don’t know if it was the time of day or what, no child could be seen pumping their legs to get the swing in motion. No neighborhood Munchkin could be spotted hanging upside down from its main horizontal bar.

Was this piece of equipment, and the memories it triggered, more appealing to an oldster like me than to a kid?  Where was the spirit of play?

What is PLAY?

I was amazed by how the two trees that made suspending this portable playlot possible lined up perfectly, but I was somehow bothered by the feeling that I was looking at a product, not at witnessing play in progress.

I have been upset by the “business” of professional sports, the sense that a signing bonus has become more important to an athlete than the love of his game. Granted, professional athletes execute skills at an elevated level, but they’re still referred to as “players,” right?

Even when an activity typically categorized as ”play” is more cerebral and less physical than participating in a sport, like playing solitaire on your smart phone, I don’t feel like the spirit of play is present.

Maybe it’s easier to think about PLAY by considering what it is not.

• Play is not an activity that requires balls, special equipment, or uniforms.
• Play is not about sports, or necessarily aerobic, although play can involve physical activity.
• Play is not a game or contest. Play is not about winning or losing.
• Play is not about performing. Although one can play an instrument, the joy is in making sound, not in having an audience.
• Play is not a distraction, or an app on your phone, or a retreat from thinking,
• Play does not have to be an arranged social activity, as in a “play date.”
• Play is not for children only. The need to play is important regardless of age.

Play is state of mind. It’s a realm that operates out of imagination, experimentation, flexibility, and openness.  It’s a state of freedom, an orientation without agenda, expectation or judgement.

At play, one experiences timelessness. At play, one enjoys any moment for its own unique discovery.

A person at play might ask himself “What would happen if….?” or “I never thought about… That’s kind of cool.”

Play is about being delighted with whatever is being presented to you. Play promotes “surprise” as a good thing.

Play, for a child, is not in a jungle gym or skill at a game. For an adult, play is not in the pleasure derived from a possession or besting a personal time doing something.

Play is a gift you give yourself, a state of being who you are and aware of what’s happening around you. Acknowledging the pleasure in that is, itself, enough.

I have spent years in pursuit of goals or bemoaning that the goals seemed out of reach. I have taken joy out of different forms of creative expression, as creator and as audience. But I’m learning that play is not in the activity but rather the sense of freedom I bring to what I do.

More and more, I’m trying to allow myself time to play.

Giving yourself fully to the spirit of PLAY is no small thing.