A Nice Playground
I went to the park the other day to spend a little quiet time during my lunch hour. While I was there, I took a look at the playground. It was a beautifully maintained playground, filled with swings and slides, and a few of the fun things that a society obsessed with keeping everyone safe will still allow. I saw the sign announcing the appropriate age range for the grounds, and felt a small twinge of envy. The swings, slides, monkey bars and climbing poles all called to some deeply hidden and long ago repressed sense of simple adventure. The question popped in my mind, “Why do kids play on playgrounds?” The simple answer is, “Because they are fun.” Who doesn’t like to swing every now and then? Even adults have porch swings. Which makes me think of another question. “Why don’t adults play on playgrounds?” The simple answer to that one is, we’ve learned to obey the signs that say “For children 12 and under.”
And that made me wonder, “Who’s making the rules and why do I follow them?” It’s one of the foundational questions of life I suppose. I think it applies to more than playgrounds, though it probably does have some bearing on how much fun we get out of life.