PLAYTIME

March 25th, 2020

How much playtime do you have during a normal day?  It’s a serious question.  And the answer isn’t the same as how much free time you have.  We all have more free time than we realize, and the current situation of many people is probably showing just how poorly we use that free time.

Playtime is something altogether different.  It’s free time with energy.

Whereas most free time is squandered with vegetative activities like Netflix and eating, playtime is a thoughtful, energetic, creative use of free time.

We can think of it for a moment in terms of money.  Many many people don’t have much money to play around with.  Certainly money is squandered, but this is different.  To play with money in this instance does not mean what it can get you, but what it can do for you.  The wealthy play with money in a way that those living paycheck to paycheck laugh at in self-deprecating ways.  The wealthy try to figure out where they can plug their money, usually in order to see if it’ll result in more money.  Those truly invoking the notion of play put their money into an idea to see if that idea can be brought to life.  Those with less money don’t play in this way, they go to a restaurant, or take a trip, or buy that fancy do-dad that they’ve always wanted.

Now let’s return to time.

How is that free time being used?  Is it squandered on petty pleasure? 

Or is it being leveraged by curiosity?  Is it being mined for possibility, is it being put to the test by experiment?