Wednesday, January 22, 2014

It's Cool To Be A Big Kid In An Adult World

"Oh cool, look at that. Let's go check it out" said Justin to his friend. "What an idiot he is. Doesn't he know that is against the law? What is even worse is the town does nothing about it" said Carl. Justin is about ten or twelve years old. Carl is a "tad" older. Okay, he is lots of tads older. Both Justin and Carl were commenting on the same thing. 

They were talking about the seaplane which had just landed on the small lake where I live. What happens to people when they get older? That which was fun; that which was cool, daring and bold; is now morally wrong, illegal or idiotic? What happens to our sense of adventure? Our sense of play? Our sense of fun? We seem to not only have lost it from 9 to 5; many seem to have lost it 24/7/365. Client demands. Boss demands. Employee demands. Spouse/Partner demands. Kid demands. Civic Responsibilities. Household responsibilities. Volunteer responsibilities. Sound familiar? It's enough to drive the stress level up to the heavens. 

Where's the fun? Where's the fun? It's in your mind if you can shift it just for a few moments. And the fun is waiting to burst out! Why is it that some office staff can head out the door for lunch or for a walk while others are just "too busy?" Are we really too busy to laugh and bond with colleagues for thirty minutes over last night's episode of South Park? I am writing this article one week before Halloween. When was the last time you stopped and looked at the level of commitment that some people have when it comes to decorating their homes. 

The same goes for other holidays. Or are you too busy rushing home to jump on your computer to see what email arrived since you left the office twenty minutes ago? Perhaps you're a Blackberry Driver? When was the last time you pulled over to the side of the road after seeing a sign that offered fresh blackberries for sale? Years ago I worked for Avon in Rye, New York. Our office was a short distance away from the Rye Playland amusement park. This was back in the day when amusements parks had a pay-per-ride policy. (I'm 44 years old if you need to know.) Relieving the stress of the day involved taking a walk down to that amusement park during lunch and riding the Dragon Coaster a few times. A little bit of laughing. A little bit of screaming. A little bit of time to appreciate that we all have a Big Kid in us somewhere. Where's yours? I know it's in there.

No comments:

Post a Comment