I’m right with you!

Actually… I think the ability to play beyond childhood is one of the most amazing of all human attributes. In some ways it is what separates us from other animals.

Thanks for this reminder to PLAY…. :-)

Jen

As a Hospice Nurse, I saw too many people staring at death with unresolved issues that I tried to help them work through. When it was successful, usually a great peace and a sense of playfulness surrounded the patient. Their last days and weeks were filled with time to say “I love you” to others and to laugh and cry over shared memories. I met many “happy joke-sters” during my career, and I’m grateful to have learned from them.

The sad times for me came when a patient became too ill too quickly to have the precious time to find that inner peace and joy. Often families are in a state of denial, or they pretend there is nothing wrong, until it is too late to have the help that a patient needs to deal with their own imminent demise. Or to reconcile their feelings about the life they have led. That wall of silence and pretending nothing is wrong does a grave disservice to a terminal patient.

With a strong sense of play, even dying patients can find joy in so many of their final hours. Too bad, so many of us let the time slip by without taking the time to really enjoy our lives.

Let’s all give ourselves permission to play! Hear! Hear!