CounterPlay

Category: Society & Politics

  • Play is Freedom

    Play is Freedom

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    [su_box title=”Guest Post: Bernie DeKoven” box_color=”#023254″ title_color=”#ffffff” radius=”5″]This post is written by guest blogger Bernie DeKoven. For more of his work, see www.deepfun.com and www.aplayfulpath.com.

    If you also want to write a post, get in touch![/su_box]

    There are certain people, like you and me, who believe in fun. We believe in it so much and so hard and so completely that we have to share it. We just have to. We believe that the pursuit of fun is even more fun than the pursuit of happiness. We believe that fun is an inalienable right. Not that it should be. But that it really, really is. Like freedom. In fact, we believe that fun is freedom. Just like freedom is fun. For sure.

    IMG_2061 (Medium)Play? Well of course. We believe in play because play is fun. Especially playful play. Because, like Patrick Bateson said (yes, him, not me), “playfulness is what makes play fun.”

    We are a playful folk. Kind of like play circuses, don’t you know. Wandering hither and yon, finding people we can just hang with and get playful. We’re not quite famous, if you know what I mean, not really “mainstream.” But play, well, it’s what we do. Who we are. What we are meant for.

    Games? Toys? Sure. Sometimes. When they’re fun. And what we like about them is that we can share them, play with people with them. We believe in Frisbees.

    But for all our faith in fun, it’s not until our tribes can get together, like we do at CounterPlay, not until all these different groups of players get to play with each other that we feel the depth of it all, the profundity of the faith, of the fun, of the freedom we give each other by the sheer power and variety and faith in fun.

    I think the whole world believes in fun. But only a few of us actually practice it. Faithfully. Which is why it is so powerful for us when we get to play together. All us play practitioners, playing freely, safely, fearlessly together.

    Fearlessly.

    It’s funny – a sad kind of funny – that we so often feel that we’re doing something wrong, something illegal, having fun like this, together, in the open. Which is probably why, when we get together, it’s so much more fun. Because we free each other. Because fun is threatening to those people who aren’t having it. Just like freedom.

    And when we’re ready, or just feel like it, or find the right opportunity, maybe we can play like we do, in public. Not so much showing people how good we are at playing together. But more like inviting people to join in the fun.

    And then, then we become a cause, if you know what I mean. Then we make our statement. Freeing each other to play, and maybe, who knows, the world.

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  • The Play Paradigm

    The Play Paradigm

    Discussions about play are too often blindsided by a lack of common language, a very narrow understanding of play, and a belief that play is only relevant if assimilated into the current paradigm as simple instruments with measurable and predictable outcomes.

    Because of this, many people don’t consider play to be “for them”, and many conversations are riddled with stereotypes and misunderstandings.

    I think we need something else. We need a different way of framing play.

    What we really need is a big, bold, far-reaching vision for play, an unmistakable argument, and an understanding that can never be reduced to popular categories like children’s play, playgrounds, toys or games. We need a vision that encompasses all of us, spans entire societies and engages in the most foundational negotiation of meaning and purpose. Looking at play like this, it becomes a moral compass, a philosophy, a way of life and even a new PLAY PARADIGM to challenge and transform the current shape and course of the world.

    This is the essence of CounterPlay: we transform ourselves and society by being playful.

    What does this mean? How is play transformative?

    IN PLAY, we are seeking the sheer joy and pleasure inherent to a playful mood, and we increase our quality of life by playing. In a playful state of mind, we are allowed and able to smile and laugh, even in the face of adversity.

    IN PLAY, we are open to the infinite complexity of the world and the diverse experiences it brings. We are actively participating, exploring other ways of being, as we transform ourselves and the world in a constant movement back and forth, where we are not seeking equilibrium or perfection, but rather the possibility space of the imperfect.

    IN PLAY, we negotiate meaning and purpose through social interaction and play becomes an exercise in empathy and in designing a meaningful way to be together.

    IN PLAY, we ask questions, our imagination awakens, we can escape the confines of cognitive patterns and engage in an act of creative expression.

    IN PLAY, we embrace unpredictability and the unknown becomes a catalyst for curiosity. We are resilient, not deterred by failure, but inspired by it, and we we are not afraid of danger or risk, but attracted to examining the mechanics of fear.

    IN PLAY, nothing is necessary, but anything is possible when we reconfigure power structures and challenge conventions. By asking questions, moving to the edge, pushing boundaries, play is rebellious.

    These are some of the traits that makes play so important in every aspect of our lives, but this is only where the conversation begins…so what am I missing?