In a world which rewards us for successfully competing against our fellow human beings, it is easy to forget the importance of doing things for no other purpose than enjoyment of the activity itself—the importance of play.
I was reminded of this when I read an article by Brother Paul Quenon in the latest edition of Parabola entitled “In Praise of the Useless Life: Prayer as Creativity and Play.”
It is important to experience the simple edifying effects of participation in an act of drawing, meditation, or music, with no other end in mind than the pleasure of expressing one’s natural passion and vitality--an act stemming from one's soul rather than the demands of social or cultural mores.
The authour reminds us that contemplation, like love, is not a commodity. These are things that exist for their own sake, not for the sake of an impression they may make.
It is easy to forget the importance of this basic truth when we are conditioned on every side to perform, to be the best. We are so habituated to a hierarchical worldview that we fail to see the cost we, and others, are paying for any ostensible ‘victories’.
For if there are winners, this necessitates the presence of losers with all the consequent lavishing of reward and praise on the former, while the latter suffers potential condemnation and neglect.
Where does this really get us in the end? Is this orientation to life really helpful in a world already full of unnecessary suffering?
It seems to me that the cultivation of happiness, through participation in activities that naturally bring us joy, is in short supply these days. This is noteworthy, as Matthew Kelty reveals:
“I am not a flutist, yet I have a flute and I play it for no purpose and for no ears save God’s and my own. That being so, there is no need of artistry or skill and I can sing my tune without fear of correction or disapproval, let alone of another showing me how it should be done…I don’t want to learn to play the flute. I prefer it this way. Beyond my incapacity to get far, there is the fear of my small joy being driven away by concern for doing it well and turning a natural act into a performance.”
It seems to me that we rob ourselves of a precious source of vitality when we place primary value on performance rather than the passion and joy inherent in an activity with no purpose or end outside itself. Because:
“The intrinsic nature of play is that it serves life and is a mode of life.”
I don't think this point can be overstated.
I love this idea of a ‘useless’ life. Modernity fails to place much value on the fallow spaces in such a way of living. We are required to justify our existence in terms of productivity, which in my experience comes at a high cost--the lowering of the quality of lives we end up living, and things we end up producing.
Perhaps it’s time to give quality of life real precedence, and what better way to get started than through passionate, creative acts of play?
