1. When was the last time you connected with the child inside of you? How did this experience make you feel?

2. Are you able to lose yourself in play?

3. Does skating alone in the moonlight appeal to you? Is there some other form of play that calls you?

4. Is the result the important part for you when you create something? Could you undertake something just for the process of it and not for the result?

5. When have you felt fully connected and accepted in life? How does the lack of competition or being favored free you ultimately?

6. How did you feel about the children’s sand castles being destroyed by the waves of the ocean? Does the permanence of something matter to you?

7. How important are spiritual rituals to you? Do you view them as play or as work?

8. Have you ever considered where God or the Divine is when you are playing?

Possible Practices

1. Consider ways you might expand your practice of play this week. Consider who you can you get to join you in play.

2. Make a special effort this week to make the play more cooperative and less competitive.

3. Make a collage of play. Include the activities which bring you joy and abandon. Place it somewhere to remind you how freeing play can be.

4. Ask others how they play.

Visit the Play homepage for more ways to practice this spiritual quality. Follow the links in the left column to:

  • a collection of quotations on compassion
  • book recommendations
  • book excerpts and teaching stories
  • film recommendations
  • music and art meditations
  • a daily cue, reminder, vow, and blessing for compassion
  • a prayer or mantra
  • personal explorations including imagery and journal exercises
  • practices and spiritual exercises
  • questions for discussion, storytelling, sharing
  • take action with household, group, and community projects
  • and more

Prepared by Persephone Zill with contributions from Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat