Ask any kindergarten teacher, and he would tell you how toddlers can make a game out of anything. They sing to memorize the alphabet, make time machines out of cardboard boxes and can transform a pail of sand into an object of infinite wonder.
Growing up sees us replace many of those make believe games with mundane chores. But look at them with a fresh pair of eyes, and you can transform them into games.
– Filling rice into a container without spilling a single grain
– Keeping one’s back absolutely straight while walking to the supermarket
– Driving a long distance on a highway without causing a single jerk
– Spending an entire morning at work without checking email
– Fixing one’s bicycle so that the gears switch more smoothly
– Swimming across a pool with the fewest possible strokes
– Figuring out the chords to a favourite song
– Cooking a meal with the least possible utensils
– Eliciting a smile from a guard at the Buckingham Palace
When we were children, almost anything counted as play. As we grew up, we were told that some things were work, while others were play. But a little creativity gives us the choice to unbelieve these definitions and replace them with our own.
