The lost art of play

For those of you who are new parents, you probably know the concept of play and imagination intimately. Everyday you are witness to a child's imaginary world, captivated by the ideas that come out of a brain that has been developing for a very short time. You have been invited into their imaginary world only to be amazed at what they see. You have probably been instructed in the proper way to destroy storm troopers, or wore Christmas pot holders while sitting in the livingroom because it was Christmas, they were green and red, and you were an elf. Maybe you had tea with Princess Sunflower and Lily, her fairy sister. What a world you have seen when you open yourself up to theirs.
However, for those of us who have never had children, or whose children are long grown, the art of play either is unknown to us or is a distant memory. We feel silly pretending because we now live in the real world, where bills, news, work, stress, and so many other pressures are our reality, and there is no more room for fantasy.
I have been fortunate enough to be re-introduced to the world of play. As soon as I heard "pretend we are on a rocket..." I was catapulted in time, back to my days of playing Star Wars, where self-consciousness was no longer a part of my reality. The insecurities of adulthood were thrown away as I took hold of my pool tube light saber. I pushed the inevitable negative statements out of my head: "I'm going to look silly" "What if someone sees me". With the negative talk gone, my focus was my shield of invisibility and commanding the storm troopers.
Some people may regard make believe as a waste of time, others will say that we pretend everyday - to be someone we are not. There are masks we wear, and acts we perform to get ahead, hide our true selves, or protect others from the truth. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about pretending for the sheer purpose of having fun.
This was a different kind of make believe. My purpose was solely to crawl inside the mind of a 5 year old and help him save his universe. Because, let's face it, in no time, his universe will be just like ours: bills, work, stress... For a brief moment, I was 5, and living in his world. And you know what? I liked it so much, I may just go back there again!
My wish for you is that you rediscover the art of play and pretend for the sheer enjoyment of it. Find your inner child and don't be afraid to show it. Just let go and let life take you somewhere else.
Karen