Following the Playful Path

Playfulness is one of the signs scientists look for when trying to determine the health of a herd of animals. The healthier the animals and the safer the herd, the more they play.

The same is true of the human herd. Especially herds of children. As long as the kids are healthy and feeling safe, left to their own resources, play is the thing they do.

Adults of the herd play less, at least observably, because for the most part they are not as healthy and definitely not as safe as they were when they were children. And when they are being playful, they tend to feel healthier, safer, almost like they did when they were kids, and maybe even better. Simply by playing, they reclaim their health, their community, their well-being, the energy of their youth.

Adult human beings are different than the adults of any other species I can think of, in that they can choose to be playful, even when they don't feel safe or particularly good.

During the course of their working lives, most people lose touch with the sources of their personal power.

So this is what I learned

• fun is fundamental to happiness
  
• people can make things more fun

And this is what I discovered:

There's a direct connection between the experiences of alienation and stress, and the amount of fun people were having - that the more alienated and stressed people are, the less fun.

That's all you need to know. As long as you are playing, and playing playfully, the Playful Path is more likely than not to be the path you're on. And as long as you stay on the Playful Path, you make even the daily game more fun.

Playing, especially playing what I call "pointless games" - games that you play for fun and not for score - you re-discover your own Playful Path, you get reminded of how it can bring a new level of vitality to yourself, to your significant others and all they signify, to those you care for and care for you.

Traveling the Playful Path is a kind of whole person, whole community, whole society, whole world yoga with games and exercises and studies and arts that help you create a daily game that is more fun for you and the world.