Sunday, October 28, 2018

Power of Play

“For some people, the activity of play may be very physical, engaging the body,” says Gray. “But for other people, play may be more of a meditative experience.”

I’ve found that in order for play to successfully take me out of my head, I have to add a little bit of challenge to it. By complicating the activity in such a way that I have to concentrate very hard, I am better able to achieve a sense of “flow,” the mental state of being completely immersed in an activity.

The opposite of play is not work, it’s depression.

Gray explained to me that in all hunter-gatherer societies, play allows adults to get along with each other, a mechanism by which we learn to be more collaborative and less combative. Since a sense of connection and community is essential to mental health, we need to learn how to relate to one another.

“Play is necessary for animals and all hunter-gatherer societies to cooperate with each other instead of dominating each other,” he says.

Play also fosters creativity.

- Article by Therese Bouchard

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