Did you know there is a National Institute for Play? Their spokesman said that play is critical for the well-being of adults. Last month I wrote a blog called "Humor" in which I talked about the playful universe.
I am a lucky man in that I came to my dream relationship late in life. My wife asked me out by email. I was the 'well-known' minister at church and I knew how to hold sacred space and conduct services. I thought I knew how people show up and along she came. The thing that made it different was she sees the universe as a fun and playful place. We have been together for almost twenty years and I still have no idea what she will do or say next. But I know it will be playful, even in times of challenge.
Let me share an example which illustrates my point. We went on a long cruise and one of our stops was Komodo Island, home of the Komodo dragon. I was always fascinated by these large modern day dragons whose bite and saliva can paralyze a human being. We signed up for the tour and arrived on the island from the shuttle boat. It was monsoon season and thus the entire tour was done in the mist and rain, sometimes heavy. We were all issued blue slickers (they were blue tarps with holes for the head!). In essence, as we traversed the hills and muddy trails we looked like a convention of Smurfs. We headed on our path to see the dragons. The mountain path was covered with mud and was slippery as the rains fell. We walked for about twenty minutes and came to a clearing. We were in groups of twenty and there were two groups already at the clearing. Each group had a staff member from the cruise ship leading the group. Ours was lead by the ship's nurse. In the clearing, I talked to the nurse about the fact that a couple people had fallen and the path was difficult to walk. As we finished the guide pointed out all around us there were Komodo dragons - some as large at 15 feet long. I turned to look and fell doing a face plant right into the mud. People rushed to get me up but when I fall I do a body injury inventory before I move. So I laid for a moment and determined I was OK except for all the mud all over my body.
My wife had been standing nearby and eventually she helped me get up. She then looked at me with some concern and said, "Did you get mud in your mouth?" I replied that I did get some mud in my mouth. With a serious face, she looked at me and said, "You do know they poop in that mud?" All three groups around us started laughing. When we got back to the cruise ship we had to check in. As I was checking back in one of the staff looked at me and said, "Oh, you're the guy that put your face in the mud that had poop in it." I was already famous or was it infamous. I loved it. This playful side had led us to grand adventures and often it feels like we are two five-year olds that have gotten off our leashes and are wandering around unsupervised.
This does not mean we aren't dealing with my huge health challenges. It does not mean we haven't faced loss and difficult times. It just means that in every situation in our lives humor is present. It is as simple as "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down in a most delightful way." Take a breath and always know this too shall pass.
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