Fun & games

So, what’s been on your list for today? Lots and lots, I bet. Work, errands, obligations, meant-to-do-yesterdays and mean-to-do-somedays. As the ancient proverb days, adulting is hard. The agenda is really never empty. Even catching up with friends has to be scheduled, and sometimes weeks in advance. Downtime? Self-care? Sleep? Likely at the bottom of that list. And straight-up fun?

Well, that’s just child’s play. 

What are you, a kid or something? Well, you used to be. We all were. Like, actual children with nothing to do except show up, or disappear, as the case may have been when grown-ups started getting irritated. Fun was always the priority, and play was the way to get there. Sometimes with rules, often not, and ideally with as few boundaries as possible. No thought to what happens when the game is over, or what to play tomorrow. Kids are usually really present, which dials the fun all the way up. The entire universe is contained in that backyard, on that field, or in that playroom.

Because when you’re having fun, why would you want to be anywhere else?

When’s the last time you had fun? I don’t mean like, “That was a nice time” fun, and I don’t even mean, “That party was fun.” I mean, when YOU actually had ridiculous fun. Let your (metaphorical, or actual) hair down, drop the plans, go with the flow, all in the moment kind of fun.

<<Waiting…>>

Been a minute, huh?

Sounds like you’re overdue.

Challenge #1: you have loads of responsibilities and a lot to do, and fun and responsibility don’t usually go hand in hand.

What if they did, though? Who says they can’t?

Our moment of inspiration on Monday offered a fresh angle on that question. What if at least some of the “gotta-do” things on your list didn’t have to be “work”?

What if none of it really was?

Yes, lots of things you do every day require effort, intellect, and maybe even good ol’ fashioned sweat. Some of them might even challenge you to stretch your limits. Maybe that alone makes you dislike them, or maybe you also just don’t really like the activity itself. (If that’s the deal, time to start to find your way out of it, one step at a time.) But just because something is hard doesn’t mean it can’t also be fun.

If you make the effort to breathe and really come into any moment, even if it seems filled with work, you will always find there is more there than just the energy burned. There are opportunities to bring energy in, too. There may be people there with you to connect with, something beautiful in the space around you, or something hilarious about how it’s all going down.

Very few experiences in life are truly, irrefutably, completely awful. Some are, for sure, but all the more reason to save your angst for those.

As one of the kings of finding fun in every day used to say, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss something.”

So, look around now and then.

Sometimes, it’s just a matter of perspective. Maybe you can shift yours a degree or two, and see things from a different angle. You know, like a headstand for your attitude. 😉

I know it’s not that easy, at least not all the time. But you’re starting with one moment – this one. Give it a shot. Who knows, it might actually be fun.

Photo credit: Frank McKenna