The Sun Shines On

Let’s Play (Find the Wonder)

12 Aug 2010 4 Comments

by al-donn in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Thoughts Tags: al-donn, find the wonder, joy, manhunt, play, rain

Hello, my fellow Sun Shiners;

I need you to think back, long and hard, to a time when you were a mere toddler, running around and about with friends, family, or even pets.  Think back, and when you do, remind yourself of what feelings you experienced.  What was it like for you?  Perhaps such a time was as a fresh mist to your young heart.  Perhaps it danced across your brow as fresh as the sweat brought on by the sunshine of play.  And remembering thus, I must now ask you this: Remember what it was like to play?  I do.  And the feeling rings in my heart as a treasure far too dear to be cast aside with a bundle of forgotten memories.  You see, an unfortunate and yet much too constant theme in the lives of many people of this age is the act of playing falling away into a distant memory.  A jewel that once brilliantly shone in the eyes of our more youthful selves, bares the unjust loss of all of its worth, its owners, ourselves, leaving our joy with it.

Have you ever looked up to a gray sky and felt grey?  Have you ever felt the rain fall down and feel simply rained on?

Mathew and George have both written about their own experiences in the rain.  And you know what?  It warmed my heart to read them.  I have always loved the rain.  In fact, I spend days waiting for the next thunderstorm, because thunderstorms always leave me feeling relaxed and completely at peace with myself and the world around me.  More importantly, each thunderstorm instills in me such a light feeling that I can only describe as an immense desire to simply play.  So I do just that.

Have you ever grabbed a good friend and sprinted through a sea of rain puddles as the sky roared and flashed a brilliant white?  Have you ever stood in the midst of a soaring wind as its billowing force lulled you into a complete peace of mind?

During my freshman year of high school, I witnessed the most splendid weather I had ever seen.  The sky was an intense shade of red, and its auburn clouds weaved in, out, and around each other like waves of an ever expansive sea.  Lightning flashed and streaked across the sky and was quickly accompanied by the roar of thunder.  Standing there under such a wondrous display of power, I should very well have been frightened to my core, but the way the rain pattered down upon my face and the wind ran swaddled me in its gentle embrace, blowing and whistling sweet nothings past my ear, I could not help but smile and leave myself to be enwrapped in the glory of it all.  When I arrived at my dorm, checked in, and then made my way to leave again, I was greeted by a few of my classmates who urged me to remain inside by order of our dorm advisor.  However, knowing of the beauty and power that awaited me outside, I ignored their warnings and reentered a land that was more like a dream.

Have you ever felt the rush of wheat slapping your legs as you ran?  Have you ever leapt from a tree to catch a friend?

The resounding “GO!” was like a cap gun blasting in my ear.  My friend Phil and I split up, he heading for the forest and I heading for the wheat field.  As I rounded the chateau, I caught a glimpse of a white jacket I knew to be worn by Billy, a member of the opposing team.  I sprinted in his direction.  The wheat field his tall frame was awkwardly trying to cross was quite large and had a well hidden path on its right flank.  So I flanked him.  I sprinted along that flank, and when he grew near, I crouched and waited.  Billy’s head poked out above me and I leapt out of my hiding spot and patted him on the shoulders.  He screamed, fell, clutched his chest, and breathed heavily.  He screamed, fell, clutched his chest, and breathed heavily, me laughing all the while.  I gave him a few moments to catch his breath, took him back to the jail set up in front of the chateau, and sprinted off again to continue the game of manhunt.

I have climbed through the trees.  I have swung from the rafters.

So what can you do to play?  What games do you need to get jump start your world?  Well, the truth is none.  You don’t need a specified game to play.  Grab a friend, or more, or none. Go outside, or to some hidden undiscovered place.

And play.

Swing from the rafters.  Kiss the skies. Beat upon your chest.  Run through the

fields.  Rediscover your childhood wonder and bring it back as the most precious

mineral to have ever graced this world of ours.  Remember that the world lies at

the edge of your fingertips, and your fingertips lie within the ever shifting

realms of your imagination.

Live your life.

Make it shine

And play.

Joy guiding me evermore to asweet and supple light;

Al-Donn