Let’s Play!
How long has it been since you….played?
Elisa D. Mekler at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Basel, Switzerland writes this about the importance of games in difficult times :
“Throughout our lives, we all experience times of personal difficulty.
Serious life disruptions can destabilise routines and influence our relationships , making us feel vulnerable , distressed , and potentially questioning our purpose in life .
A growing body of research aims to understand how everyday technologies can be used to support people in coping with sensitive life experiences such as relationship breakdowns , job loss , moving home , retirement , gender transition , veteran re-integration into civilian life , and dealing with bereavement .
Though not without potential issues, the findings of such work broadly highlight the positive role that technology, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in particular, can have in connecting individuals to valuable support networks.
Games are vastly popular, and there is increasing interest in examining the potential of games to positively affect players’ mental health and well-being . Work in the area of emotionally moving game experiences has also suggested that players sometimes reflect on gameplay and how it related to personal life events involving difficult and existential concerns , such as coping with loss and death, family break-up, or questioning one’s identity. In addition, preliminary findings suggest that people may play games as a way to cope during times of emotional distress.”
Who hasn’t felt some sort of suffering in the past 2 1/2 years? Who hasn’t felt a new kind of suffering this year? When Covid began it seemed the world became one for awhile. The world seemed to be ….. ‘all in this together’… and the world sought after a solution to the illness that plagued it.
But we are now experiencing the opposite of this attitude. Our world has become divided. The hatred spewed, the cruel words and selfish actions are becoming commonplace. It’s causing some of us to feel depressed.
How do we cope with these difficult days/ weeks/ months, and years?
Perhaps it is time to become more …childlike. Perhaps we need to play a bit more.
Even Jesus expected people to play….. “Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even though it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in these days, should it also seem impossible to me, says the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will save my people from the east country and from the west country; 8 and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” Zechariah 8:4.
I think we need a ‘lightness’ in our lives. A lightness in our steps, a lighter heart, the light that conquers evil.
Perhaps we need to play again.
Ernest Shackleton's crew of 27 men were stranded in the Arctic sea ice for 10 months. What did they do? They played soccer!
Jesse Owens made headlines all around the world in 1935 when he set six world records within the space of an hour. His record-breaking feats at 100m, 200m, sprint hurdles and the long jump underlined his status as one of the expected stars of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
In the months leading up to the Games, Owens was under pressure in his home country to boycott the Olympics on the grounds that an African-American should not compete at an event run under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime. Hitler, meanwhile, had hoped that German athletes would dominate at the Games and show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany.
Owens, however, pursued his Olympic ambitions and went on to win gold in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m and long jump. While Hitler refused to attend the competition sessions in which Owens achieved his gold medals, Owens later revealed that Hitler had acknowledged his success with a handshake.
We can get out there and play a simple game of street hockey with our kids or we can get on Zoom and play “Codenames” or the like online with our family or friends. We can play video games to relax or we can sit on the floor and do a puzzle with our grandchildren.
It is time to release some of our stresses and …play!
Our political leaders are suggesting that the pandemic has run its course. Not sure if that’s true. But as we head into this next time of transition from lockdown to opening up….perhaps we can choose to open up our hearts to those who have wronged us by displaying an attitude of forgiveness . We will need grace to find compassion for our neighbours. And we will need to exhibit a childlike trust that all will eventually be well.
Until then…. have a ‘Wordle” game on me….
https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=cfrfp (Just copy and paste into your browser)
( With thanks to my friend, Doug Kramer, for inspiring me.)
