Play

Play


Two weeks ago in my blog, I shared pictures I had painted as part of the Contemplative Painting Class at the Retreat House Spirituality Center. I shared 5 paintings with comments. The above painting I did not share. It was the last painting I did in the second class. I didn't really like it. It didn't speak to my spiritual journey, or so I thought.

On my way to Gilmont Conference Center for a board meeting, I listened to Brene Brown and the Power of Vulnerability. This is a series of teachings Brene did for Sounds True. In one of her talks Brene Brown talked about the importance of play for wholehearted living. Brene's first response when play came up in her research data was to discount it. Then it was to realize that she didn't know how to play, didn't have time to play, and had too many important things to do rather than play.

Brene defined play as "time spent without purpose." Based on that definition, I realized that I don't know how to play either. Almost all my time is spent with purpose. If I go out to shoot basketball, it is to get better, to improve. I have a purpose. If we are playing a card game, I have a purpose - win. I don't like to lose. Brene said competitive sports is not play because there is a purpose. If I go for a walk or run, that is not play. It is exercise. I have a hard time just sitting in the backyard. It just seems I should be doing something.

I can remember going on a camping trip as a boy.  We camped near a lake and I wandered down to the lake and began throwing and skipping rocks into the lake.  I must have thrown a hundred rocks into that lake. My dad came down and told me I was going to fill that lake up with rocks. For me, that was play.  No purpose. Just throwing or skipping rocks and having fun.

Playing and singing and dancing and laughing all are key to wholehearted living, according to Brene Brown. I looked again at this discounted picture, the one I thought was not part of my spiritual journey.  It is part of my journey. This picture is inviting me to play. To sing. To move. To be a pink evergreen tree. Can I say yes, not because I ought to play but because I want to? Yes, that is why I am sharing this picture with you and inviting you to play. Just have some fun. That's what I'm going to do.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Playing in Syria

Playing in Syria             In September 2016, I went to Lebanon with a group from Grace Presbytery.   We visited churches in the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, part of the Presbyterian family. As part of the trip, we had the option to go into Syria.   Syria was in the midst of its civil war and we were promised that we would go into a part of the country where there was no fighting and where it was safe.   I talked to Crysta, my wife, about entering Syria and she said I could, as long as I did not come back in a body bag.   I decide to go into Syria, intent on avoiding all body bags.             Our small group was led into Syria by Elmarie Parker, a Presbyterian mission co-worker. It took almost three hours for us to cross the border from northern Lebanon.   The Syrian border guards were not sure why a group of Americans would want to come into their country.   The U.S. and Syria are not on very good speaking terms.   We had letters of invitation from the P
Read more

R.I.P. My Friend, the Thistle

Image
R.I.P. My Friend, the Thistle             Each day as part of the Seminary of the Wild virtual retreat we were invited to go out onto the land. We were instructed to find a portal, something we could cross over or ask permission of in order to begin our wanderings. These portals are important because they help us shift from our ordinary time into the mysterious, where we don’t know what might happen.             On the first day of my wanderings at Erwin Park in McKinney, as I walked from my car, I saw a thistle plant standing tall above the surrounding grasses. I was drawn to this particular thistle plant and went over to look at her.   The thistle had one bud at the top of the stem and a smaller one coming forth from a lower branch. Thistles are fast growing plants and I knew I would enjoy coming each day to see what new growth she had had. I looked at the leaves with their thorny edges and saw the small spikes running up the stem. A beautiful plant but one I didn’t want to
Read more

My Promise to the Ants

My Promise to the Ants             Last month I was at Ghost Ranch Conference Center in New Mexico attending the Seminary of the Wild.   We had been discussing and experiencing the Wild Earth, the Wild Self, and the Wild Christ. Toward the end of the week, we were sent out onto the land to be and listen and be present.   I decided to return to a great cedar tree that I had sat under earlier to listen to who or what would speak.             As I sat there, fire ants started gathering around me.   I could see a huge fire ant mound about twenty yards away and wondered why all these ants were gathering around me.   Much to my surprise, they picked me up and began to carry me toward the mound.   I was not at all sure how they were doing it or why.   They were not gentle as they dragged me over several sharp rocks.   I thought about just standing up but decided to see where this ride would take me.             As the ants got closer to the fire ant mound, I wondered if they thought
Read more