Playing on the Edge

Last fall, I had a striking experience walking in Central Park.  The weather was mild and the trees were still green. My soul was soaking in the beauty of nature and felt very peaceful even in the middle of New York City.

After a meditative moment of gratefulness and peace, I felt pulled by shouts of joy toward a children’s playground sculpture in the park. Kids were having a great time experiencing the freedom of movement exhilarated by others like them expressing themselves with passion.

It was clear that boys and girls had a different way of expressing their joy of life. Most boys were playing daring games such as crawling on rocks and looking around to see if someone was admiring them.  As though further energized by people like me looking at them, they kept climbing and jumping even faster,  taking less and less time to secure their footing well before taking the next step. Parents were split between being worried and proud. Being admired taking risks seemed to tuned the kids on.  Perhaps taking risks is a masculine quality… But then I saw a girl who seemed to outdo most boys. That was impressive. However most girls were playing on the ground enjoying sharing their toys with others and pushing each other on the swings.

I tried to analyze why it was so.  Was the diversity in play because of socialization?  Instead of answering my question, I decided to enjoy the diversity and the genuine pleasure experienced by the boys and girls playing and also by the men and women who were present there to create safety for them.

Would our sexual life be more spontaneous and exciting if we gave up the analyzing and trying to make sense of how nature wants to express itself through us?

I feel grateful to be alive and decided to play a little more freely myself.

Some wise person said:  “If you are not on the edge you’re taking up too much space. “

How are you playing in your life?  Are you allowing yourself to take some risks by pushing your boundaries of safety without falling off the rocks?