Right next to the elevators in my apartment building is a very small playground. The climbing fixture and slide are sized for kids that are 3 to 8 years old. Additionally, it sits on a rubberized ground cover that puts a spring in your step when you walk on it. With location and convenience, it is a magnet for all ages.
For most of the day it is relatively quiet. In addition to the busy evenings, there is a predictability that when I go to work there will be at least one child playing on it. With grandparents or care giver close by, the preschool age kids are living in a wonderful world of their own imagination!
As I responded to a call for attention from a usually outgoing kid the other morning (big smile and thumbs up for his crazy moves), I realized that I was being infused with a renewed sense of hope and possibilities. Even now when I close my eyes and replay the scene I am energized! There is something magical in what the kids are doing and sharing.
Joyful play washes participants and observers with hope and optimistic energy. Young or old, in any form, metaphorically when “the mountains turned playful and skipped like rams, the hills frolicked like spring lambs,” (Psalm 114.4) those involved in any way are infused a heavy dose of life’s greatest energy.
The fact that one is near a playground, even participating, does not mean that one will leave in better spirits. The gifts of hope and energy need to be accepted and embraced for them to leave their mark. How we feel is always the outcome of a choice we make.
With the morning experiences, I am reminded that there is never a bad or wrong time to play. Play can take many forms and while not all forms work in all situations, it is a gift we have within us that can be embraced at any time and in any place. Seeing kids experiencing life without a care is an invitation to join them!
