Play and Creativity
Art Crusade 15
Adults are afraid to play.
When we are kids, we play without reservation or judgment. It is a natural part of how we both interact with the world and learn. Yet, adults are afraid to play.
So what is play? “Play may be described as a spontaneous, creative, desired research activity carried out for its own sake,” according to N. V. Scarfe, in the journal “Childhood Education” published in an article titled “Play is Education.”
Play is one of the primary ways that children learn. As we become adults and get older, we begin to worry about what our peers think of us and the opinions of others. As a result, we begin to play less and less.
“The drive to play is as fundamental as our drives for food and sleep.”
- Dr. Stuart Brown
Stuart Brown is the founder of the National Institute for Play. He studies play and its positive effects on adults. He wrote a book, “Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul.”His organization and book emphasize the importance of play. In his book, he says, “In play, we can imagine and experience situations we have never encountered before and learn from them.”
In other words, we use our creativity to find solutions to new problems. Play is a way for us to work through problems without fear or judgment. Play is not attached to outcomes. It is an activity without attachment to results. Play is important to creative pursuits, but also almost every aspect of our lives.
How then can we cultivate a space for play in our “adult” lives?
In John Cleese’s book, Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide, he suggests that we need to create a time and space for play and creativity. Most importantly, a space free from interruption. Yes, even a space free from our beloved smartphones and the internet. We need a space where we are free to imagine without judgment through our thoughts and ideas. They may not all be good ideas, but that judgment can be reserved for later. During the time that we set aside to play, we are safe to explore without a preconceived notion of success or failure. We can iterate on ideas and let them collide with other ideas to form new paths and exploration.
All of us need to set aside time in our day or week for play. Play will help us find new solutions and answers we may never have thought of otherwise.
Go play!
I originally published this as a paid article on Medium, but wanted to share it with all of you as a way of saying thank you for subscribing to my newsletter.
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