9.20.2003

Play Ethic

Being grown up means responsibility, demands on our time, buckling under the pressure of the corporate world, and becoming slaves to the work ethic. There isn’t any time for play. Why can’t we PLAY every day? Why can’t it just be a part of everything we do?

It can. When I was younger, I think I had a pretty good grasp of the Play Ethic. I worked, but the work made me happy and left me fulfilled. I was more creative and inspired. Then I, right along side my fellow drones, got sucked into the vortex of the work ethic…I hopped on the treadmill of monotony and drudgery. Well, I want off!

With all of the awesome technology at our fingertips, we should all be freed up to express ourselves creatively, to live spontaneously, to PLAY.

I stumbled across an article by author Pat Kane a while back that completely defines the concept that has been tumbling around in my own head. He’s in the process of writing a book, The Play Ethic: Living Creatively in the New Century, which is due out in 2004.

The play ethic is about having the confidence to be spontaneous, creative and empathetic across every area of you life - in relationships, in the community, in your cultural life, as well as paid employment. It's about placing yourself, your passions and enthusiasms at the centre of your world.

Sounds good to me!

The article is pretty long, but well worth the read. So, please do so. Then let me know what you think.

(And, x, enjoy your PLAY. Write something in the sand.)

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