The Value of Free Play in Adulthood

Paint as you like and die happy 

HENRY MILLER

The Value of Free Play in Adulthood

 (5-minute or less read)

The book Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art by Stephen Nachmanovitch (1990) was loved and recommended by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, and author Robert Pirsig.

Nachmanovitch, a violinist and Harvard graduate who completed a PhD in the History of Consciousness for an exploration of William Blake, is deeply concerned with play, and how it serves as a pathway for creativity and beauty to emerge.  His work explores the inner source of spontaneous creation.

He defines play with the help of an old Sanskrit word, Lila.

Lila roughly translates to play, but its use is richer and more nuanced than our word.  It means divine play; the play of creation, destruction, and re-creation.

Lila is free and deep.  It is the play of God (or anything bigger than yourself).  It is spontaneous, childish, and disarming. 

As we grow and experience the complexities of life, Lila may fade away or seem frivolous.  And yet, the importance of play cannot be overstated. It’s coming to fruition is a homecoming to our true selves.

The author describes the feeling of play as not "doing something" but rather the taking and following of direction, of being led.

Lila is:

·      the shockingly beautiful tone produced by the uninhibited child on the piano.

·      the automobile mechanic who opens the hood of a car with sensitivity, ready to absorb surprises and works with a deep connectedness.

·      the painter without a preconceived theme, who allows colors and forms to flow from spontaneous prompting of the unconscious.

Action step:

What elements of play can you add this week?   Suspend judging the outcome, as you would if it were a child trying these activities.

·       Try to follow the feeling of being led in daily, low risk activities.  What clothes are you led to?  What foods can you combine, that you ordinarily don't?

·       Take one chord progression from a piece you are working on and improvise anything.  Plunk down a bass note and fill in a melody in your right hand.  As you go, notice how it evolves without your direct effort.  

·       Choose a phrase from a piece you are working on, and invert from major to minor or vice versa.  Beyond the obvious change in character, what else is illuminated in this process?  Maybe the relationship of inner voices stands out in a different way.  Or does it feel awkward, even, irreverent? Just notice.  

Wishing you a glorious practice week full of spontaneity and insight!

Michelle