"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play" - Heraclitus
This is my faviorate quote. I work with Children, and have 3 of my own. The majority of my time is spent with Children, and this has been the case for nearly 20 years. Children give me a great sense of joy and purpose that I find rewarding and forefilling. But more than that, it's fun to live a life that is so occupied by play.
This quote, to me, has two meanings, based on 2 versions of childrens play. Firstly, A child at play, can be one full of laughter and excitement, pretending to be a superhero, a Princess, or both. Running wild with fierce passion, with an unburdered attachment to the moment they are in, without consideration for opinions and without care for the future or regrets of the past.
When an adult plays with a child in this way, their happiness can become contagious, they let you peak at the world from behind their eyes and view the world from the perspective of fun, joy and play. And within this world, a genuine version of ourselves can be re-found, if only momentarily. One free from maturity, seriousness, money, prospects, worries, social ranking etc.
Secondly, there is a version of play that is so focused that the rest of the world dissolves into static. If you've ever seen a toddler who is passionate about cars you might of seen an example of this. They become completely horizontal, laid as closely to the floor as possible with their faviorate car, hypnotised by it as they roll it backwards and forwards, again and again. Engrossed in their passion, time is lost to them, all that matters is that they are doing their most faviorate thing.
This type of play is serious business. Slow, methodical and meaningful. This happens to adults as they lose themselves into something they are similarly passionate about. For me, time slips away when I make music. Hours can slip away, as I continually look at the clock and think to myself "5 more minutes" before spending countless more hours on the project. By finding things that make time slip away as it does for the child and their car, we connect to our authentic self, and similarly, the world fades into static as we experience the joy of being ourselves.
We can learn a lot from a Child at play!
