Some goals for this blog would be to create: a definition of & philosophy of play, from there I see the need to explore the role of play in education, in the workplace, in spirituality, in relationships, and of course life management. I would love to hear any thoughts or suggestions my current reading audience may have in this regard.
I recently "amazon-ed" myself a copy of Pat Kane's The Play Ethic (a thick manifesto that I am working my way through) and I also have Jerome Berryman's book Godly Play which I have briefly scanned through. Are there any other books you might recommend that would help me in my research? Perhaps the creation of a theology of play would be an interesting endeavour as well. Any ideas, suggestions, banter, title ideas, etc. are greatly appreciated. Obviously play is a strong component of lifestylism that my friend Jer has been exploring, and I should credit him for inspiring me in investigating this particular aspect of lifestyle.
As always - exploring!
G
3 comments:
I do have one recommendation that isn't focused on play exclusively, but helped shape my ideas about fostering optimal experiences: Finding Flow by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I'm sure you could relate to his central focus -- he studies experiences where people are so engaged that they they lose track of time, usually doing activities that challenge their skills and demand their attention. I found it fascinating and still think about it regularly.
I was thinking about your last line, referring to play being part of lifestylism. I think I've been assuming the same, but I wonder if we're both extrapolating from our own considerable value of play and assuming that everyone would do the same if only they were reflective. At the core, I think lifestylism is about how well any individual's values are reflected in how they spend their time, money and energy...and everyone wouldn't necessarily value play the same way we do. Too bad for them, of course...
: )
Jer, I'll have to pick Mihaly's Finding Flow - I have his book on creativity which is really good as well. In regards to wondering whether or not play is more about values than lifestylism - I still think play is crucial to any human regardless of age.
Play and work actually are not opposites like our society so often likes to place them. In fact, play can occur at work if the environment allows it to occur. When I am allowed to be creative and explore new ideas, in my opinion it is play. I do agree that we both put perhaps more value on play in our lifestyles than others and that values do play a role in how we spend time, money & energy. But without play, I think think that our concept of lifestylism is flawed and incomplete.
G
Yeah, you're probably right about the necessity of play, at least as long as it is defined broadly enough. I think I prefer the concept of flow when applied to the creative and engaging parts of work. For me, no aspect of work is fun in the same way that play/leisure are. That's not to devalue good work, but I think of it more in terms of fulfillment and growth rather than fun. Just semantics, perhaps.
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