"Of all animal species, humans are the biggest players of all. We are built to play and built through play. When we play, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, the truest expression of our individuality.

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I don't think it is too much to say that play can save your life. It certainly has salvaged mine. Life without play is a grinding, mechanical existence organized around doing the things necessary for survival. Play is the stick that stirs the drink. It is the basis of all art, games, books, sports, movies, fashion, fun and wonder - in short, the basis of what we think of as civilization. Play is the vital essence of life. It is what makes life lively.

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These properties are what make play, for me, the essence of freedom. The things that most tie you down or constrain you - the need to be practical, to follow established rules, to please others, to make good use of time, all wrapped up in a self-conscious guilt - are eliminated. Play is its own reward, its own reason for being.
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the opposite of play is not work - the opposite of play is depression. Our inherent need for variety and challenge can be buried by an overwhelming sense of responsibility. Over the long haul, when these spice-of-life elements are missing, what is left is a dulled soul.

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Finally, and perhaps most important, work that is devoid of play is either boring or a grind. We can get pretty far through sheer will-power, and some people have prodigious powers of perfectionism, self-denial, and suffering. Ultimately, though, people cannot succeed in rising to the highest levels of their field if they don't enjoy what they are doing, if they don't make time for play. Having a fierce dedication to grinding out the work is often not enough. Without some sense of fun or play, people usually can't make themselves stick to any discipline long enough to master it. ... People reach the highest levels of a discipline because they are driven by love, by fun, by play.

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If addition to being pulled away from play, we are pushed from play, shamed into rejecting it by a culture that doesn't understand the human need for it and doesn't respect it. As I've said before, play is seen as something that children do, so playing is seen as a childish activity not done in the adult world. The message is that if you are a serious person doing serious work, you should be serious. Seriously.

Most of the time, we have so internalized society's messages about play being a waste of time that we shame ourselves into giving up play. There may be people in our lives who tell us to take it easier, have a little fun, but we just can't allow ourselves to do that."

-- play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, Stuart Brown, M.D., with Christopher Vaughan