Growing Up is Overrated

The battles in my own backyard were epic. The near hand-to-hand fighting was intense. It was hell. But war is hell, after all.

And that’s where the story begins. 

Unfortunately around 5:45pm my Mom yelled for me to come in. The truth is that the battle for Iwo Jima took place in the deep woods behind my boyhood home. The guns were plastic, the grenades were pinecones and the radios were mostly shoe boxes and duct tape.

My wing men were my best friends. We fought many battles together. Good men. Warriors. We must’ve died 1,000 times on those “beaches” in my own backyard.

Our deaths were often hastened by enemy sniper fire or an expertly tossed Japanese grenade. Our deaths typically involved a slow motion fall into a pile of soft leaves. Or some other overly-dramatic and highly imaginative demise that launched us airborne. Personally I dove on hundreds of grenades.  

Those were the days. Good times. 

It was a simpler time. A time of freedom. A time of unlimited imagination. A time of boundless energy. A time of friendships. A time of pine cone grenades. 

There were also moments of pure boredom. Moments that inexplicably turned exhilarating without any effort. Like the famous train scene from the classic coming-of-age movie, Stand by Me.

I can easily see myself on that train trestle, running at full-steam, diving to narrowly avoid the speeding train.   

The End of Play Time

I often wonder when we lost the ability to play. The ability to be creative and imaginative. The ability to hear the mortar fire, smell the sulfur grenades and sense the danger in a totally make-believe battle. The ability to outrun the speeding train. 

We weren’t limited to just storming the beaches of Iwo Jima. I personally caught the game-winning pass in the Super Bowl. I did it 473 times. That one-handed, sideline catch. Diving expertly past the pylon. Stretching out to break the plane of the goal as time expires. The crowd goes wild. 

Except the pylon was my mailbox.  And the goal line was my driveway. And the ball was a green, Nerf football. 

The Benefits of Play

Play has been shown to release endorphins those chemicals known to create the “runner’s high” that we get after vigorous exercise.  Endorphins improve brain functionality, and stimulate creativity make us feel happy. 

”We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing.” 

-Charles Schaefer

Maybe it’s the reason why Ellen Degeneres is always so darn happy. The Ellen Show is an American talk-variety show featuring comic Ellen Degeneres. In addition to dancing and interviewing guests, Ellen likes to play games. Here’s a montage of Ellen’s best game playing moments.  

It’s as if your teenage best friend has a killer basement and an unlimited amount of money to play games and pull pranks on strangers. Instead of raging teen hormones, Ellen creates raging Endorphins from laughter.  

It’s no wonder that an average of 4.2M viewers tune in daily. 

Play allows us to learn how to be creative and helps nurture critical thinking. It also creates real life, problem-solving skills. And teaches the art of compromise. Critically important life skills outside of the land of make-believe.   

Oh, and it’s fun, too. 

In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Maybe it’s the reason why The Brooklyn Preschool “Mastermind” is so popular. For around $1,000 you can have a preschool-type experience for adults. 

Adults pay to get in touch with their inner child. There’s show-and-tell, Musical chairs, arts-and-crafts such as finger painting and daily naps. Yes, you pay a grand to finger-paint and take a nap. It’s a sure sign that the economy is about to implode.  

What’s About the Millennials?

One of the biggest complaints about Millennials is that they are not problem solvers. Do you think it’s cause they spent too much time in carefully crafted, meticulously managed activities. I do. 

Activities like team-based sports and after school tutors. Or playing video games, often in isolation. Sterile activities that require little in the way of creativity, imagination or problem solving. 

Vacation

Why is it that the only time we play as adults is on vacation? Take me to a far-away island and I immediately revert. I wanna sing karaoke and ride a surfboard. I wanna build an elaborate sandcastle. I wanna play pool volleyball and rent kayaks and try to tip over in the surf. If they set up a game of Kick the Can I’ll own it. Nobody beats me at lawn games. Nobody. 

Let’s re-ignite our inner child. Let’s seek to find ways to play more, worry less and find the joy in life’s revolving doors.

Before you go, could you please click below and share this story on Facebook with your non-imaginary friends? I’ll have your back if we ever go to war together.