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Institute of Serenity PMB 875, 713 W. Spruce, Deming, NM
Teaching Relaxation, Rest, and Renewal since 2002
Serenity Practice: Winter 2009/2010
Play!
Feeling stressed out can be the
result of several scenarios:
1. You have more to do than
you can handle.
2. Your energy level is so
low that even normal tasks seem overwhelming.
3. Your whole day and the
entire week consist of work. Even an outing with friends has become an
item on your to-do list.
These
scenarios are, of course, interconnected. Having too much on the plate
and making no time for leisure often result in a drop in energy. A low
energy level often results in working harder and enjoying life less.
My former
friend Barbara, for example, was a full-time nurse at a large hospital
for paraplegics in Hamburg, Germany. She also attended courses at the
university. On rare occasions, we met for walks over the mudflats at
ebb. Back on shore, she usually exclaimed, “Now I can place a checkmark
behind it!” - The walks with me, the visits of the movie theaters, the
hours at the cafés had mutated into chores!
What I remember mostly about her is her constant sense of utterly being
stressed and her propensity to developing skin diseases.
We need to
make time for mere play and fun. Not once in a while, but regularly. We
need play time not only at the age of four, but also at the age of 40
and 80!
I remember
my training in psychooncology with Dr. Carl Simonton. He taught us that
helping a cancer patient to set up a plan for getting well needs to
include time for play and fun.
I am not
talking about getting an ATV or a sailboat and, by no means, I am
thinking of TV.
My father
was an artist who could barely provide for his family. We did not have a
TV set or any other fancy gadget. My fondest memories are those of our
Saturday evenings when we gathered around the kitchen table to play
Chinese checker or other board games until deep into the night. There
was hardly another time when I felt so light-hearted and carefree.
Unfortunately, nowadays the TV dominates the evenings, deadens family
communication, and replaces story telling and play.
Do
yourself a favor and get those games out of the closet! Bring your
family together or have friends coming over and - play again!
When
choosing a game, there are several features to consider:
Some
games make you more interact with each other than others! If – and when
– you get your figures home with Chinese checker, for example, depends
highly on the other players’ moves. With Yahtzee on the other hand, you
basically play for yourself, rolling the dice in hopes to reach a higher
score than the rest at the table.
Some
games can be played only with two people; others are more fun for a
larger group. If, for example, it’s just you and your spouse, you may
get bored with a game like Uno that is designed for more players.
Monopoly, too, is more fun when played in a larger group.
Strategic
games like chess or Pentago require thinking and concentration; with
others, only luck determines the winner. Losing a strategic game may
strike your ego to a higher degree than losing in Chinese checker!
Games are
not only fun but they also can teach us some things about life:
Everybody wins sometimes and loses sometimes.
The
outcome of our actions depends highly on other peoples’ actions.
We all are interconnected.
Laughing at our need to control and kissing it good bye is a great way
to de-stress life.
Remember:
We do not live to work, but we work to live!
