Play

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.

~ Plato

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I have probably used the above quote before.  I really like it.  I agree with it.  I have seen it in action.  

This afternoon I was in the back yard doing a few things I heard a herd of kids next door playing.  They were playing tag.  When one girl caught one of the boys he screamed, "I want my lawyer!"  Then another kid stepped in and said, "Okay people.  Break it up.  Break it up."

(pause)

Then I wasn't really sure what they were playing.  Or what their lived experiences were.  Maybe the game had nothing to do with their real lives, but don't we often use play as a mirror for the lives we have lived?  

Isn't that where the game of Life came from?  From experiences getting degrees and having relationships and buying insurance?  Or the game of Trouble or Sorry where we learn about the repercussions of our choices?  Or Gnip Gnop where we explore the experiences of dyslexic ping pong players?  Or Clue where we seek to solve the murder mysteries from our pasts.  Or Checkers where we learn that the way to get to be the leader and have power is to jump people and eliminate them?

(pause)

Wait.  I think maybe some of the messages from our games are problematic.  Maybe "I want to call my lawyer" isn't any more troubling than "Ring Around the Rosey" which celebrated the bubonic plague or Monopoly which celebrates greed.

Thankfully we still have our sports to celebrate human excellence and clean competition.