“We don’t stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing.”
George Bernard Shaw

We went bowling for my Birthday this year. I felt like doing something different; something other than going out to eat or sitting at a bar or at home with friends. When I told people how I’d celebrated my Birthday they all looked at me with the same odd look on their faces. It’s been years since I bowled, they said. Me too! Maybe that’s why it was so much fun. It made me feel like a kid again.

I was beginning to forget how to have fun. Sure we get together with friends to play cards now and then and last year we had a party here; moved the furniture out of the family room and got all our friends to dance. I do know how to have fun. I just get so busy sometimes that I forget to take the time to do it.

The problem is I love my work too much. It doesn’t sound like a problem but it is. I feel like I’m having fun when I’m writing or when I’m hanging out here at Life, for instance and that’s because I am having fun. But I’m still working.

I think it’s important to maintain a balance between work and play and to distinctly draw the line that divides the two no matter how much we enjoy our work. I think we need to schedule four different types of fun into our lives on a regular basis. After all; we’re working as hard as we do so we can enjoy life. Shouldn’t we be doing the “enjoy life” part too?

Here are four different ways to keep fun in our lives:

1. Date nights – out! Movies and popcorn at home only counts once in a while!
2. Activities with friends; dancing, bowling, hiking, taking in a festival or camping.
3. Retreat-like solo activities; shopping, or a trip to the library, a drive to the shore.
4. Playing with a child; if you don’t have children at home, borrow one from a neighbor or friend. No one can teach you more about having fun than a child.

How do you keep fun in your life? What do you do for fun?

photo credit: Tinou Bao