New life and adventure are as close to you as your imagination. It's pure magic. Why? Because your imagination is the gatekeeper to your spirit of play.

Remember, way back to those magic words, "Let's pretend?” They triggered play instantly. Without effort, you transformed whatever was at hand into a new and exciting experience. It carried you into a world where there was nothing you could not do.

As ethnologist Sally Carrighar observed : "It [play] furnishes its own energy.” Play is a renewing experience, not a draining one. What a welcome companion to carry into the minutia of one's "daily grind.”

In today's society we are nearly overwhelmed by conditions that inhibit natural, imaginative playfulness. We are governed by goals, objectives, deadlines and quotas. Some are imposed on us and some we impose ourselves.

We are poorer because of it. It's no wonder that so many people passionately look forward to retirement. At one time I worked in a state governmental agency. What was said then may still be true: Every state worker knew the exact date of his or her retirement.

Why not turn the imagination loose in our work and other daily responsibilities, making the exciting energy of play an actual part of ourselves? Your playful imagination can do wonders for both your morale and your effectiveness. Here are two examples from my own experience:

Early in World War II while I was waiting to be called into active military duty, I worked on a farm. When I finished milking the cows I had to run the hand-operated cream separator. If you're old enough you will remember them.

After pouring the fresh milk into the large funnel on top of the separator, I was no longer in the milk house. I transported myself to the deck of a U. S. Navy aircraft carrier. When I grabbed the handle on the side of the separator and started my huff- and-puff cranking, I was no longer rotating the disks inside the separator to get them up to needed centrifugal force for separating the cream from the milk. I was winding the engine of a navy fighter plane just as I saw them do in movies and newsreels. I was readying the plane for take off to engage the enemy.

Twice a day - early morning and late evening - I turned the handle faster and faster and faster right up to take off time: That is, that moment when the cream was separated. Charles Schulz's Snoopy had his Red Baron, and I had my enemy somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

Not only did my playful imagination turn the chore - and it was a chore - into an adventure, but to the farmer's delight, my dedication to naval duty paid off for him. The butterfat count went up considerably, and he got more money for his cream. Here's the point. This w

as pure play on my part. However, if increasing the butterfat count had been the objective of my activity, it would no longer have been play. Play delights in the activity itself. The joy and satisfaction do not depend on some preconceived result or goal.

The other example was in my work as a hospital chaplain. It came about as I began taking a professional interest in the experiences of play. I had already identified within myself one of the satisfying values that came from my childhood play - adventure. So I asked myself, "How would that Kansas kid make an adventure out of this work?”

Within seconds the answer came. He would imagine himself as an undercover agent in a prison where the people (patients) were confined against their will. His job was to secretly plot with them to find ways to escape. Of course, this had to be hush- hush and shared with no one. In reality this was not difficult because nothing in this imaginative setting inhibited me from doing the actual work I was to do. To my delight I discovered that over time this new sense of place increased my creativity both within the hospital and in the community.

So it can be for you. The examination of your childhood play will reveal specific values that you gained or realized in your private play. With these identified, your imagination can show how to pursue them in your here and now.

Doing this does not mean one's whole time will be spent in a playful nature. There were many times when the situations of my work were far from playful and were not experienced as such. But from time to time I could mentally move into my playful image and receive the energy and savor the detachment that play brings (c) Cy Eberhart 2006

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