Once people understand what play does for them they can learn to bring a sense of excitement and adventure back to their lives. - Stuart Brown
I recently discovered a book by Dr. Stuart Brown titled Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul. I’ve long known that play was essential to being creative, and while Brown agrees, he takes it a step further saying that play is crucial to our overall sense of well being. Humans are not alone is this need. Play is deeply embedded in the natural world. Bears, bobcats, deer, octopus, elephants, aardvarks and sparrows, to name a just few, have all been observed at play.
Many of you may have seen the photo or video of a Canadian Eskimo sled dog playing with a polar bear. Brown offers the backstory which makes the scene even more remarkable. It was apparently a very hungry polar bear since the sea ice was late in freezing up so it hadn’t been able to hunt seals. Rather than eating the dog, the bear approached with a relaxed posture that invited play. The dog naturally responded. The two frolicked for quite a while. The polar bear came three days in a row to play, then as it got cold enough for the ice to freeze it headed off to hunt. This seemingly remarkable interchange suggests that play provides something essential to living beings beyond what we understand.
Brown defines play as a state of being where we engage in something for its own sake. It puts us into an expanded state of consciousness where things seem to flow and it lightens our mood. Play has been shown to improve brain function and accelerate learning. It gives us a hit of dopamine, the feel good hormone naturally produced by our bodies. It contributes to our overall sense of well being. Play has been shown to diminish antisocial behavior and a predilection for violence in abused kids.
Play is certainly at the heart of creativity. A willingness to play which allows us to get lost in what we are doing is essential to being creative. That it also really contributes to our overall well being makes it even more important than we think.
Play is different for everyone. One retired researcher says he continues to do research because for him it actually feels like play. For me being creative is part of my play whether I'm writing, cooking, taking photographs or dabbling in watercolors. Take a moment and consider what feels like play for you. Where do you feel a sense of timelessness. Expand your definition of what you think play needs to look like. Let yourself be surprised by the answer. Then ask what do you need to do to bring more play into your life?