[ the play of light, dept. ]
“To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man.”
~ The above was said by Nelson Mandela, of world soccer great Pele, who passed on bodily, this December day. Indeed, the man called ‘Pele’ demonstrated what much of the human world recognized – not only his graceful skills but perhaps even more so, his “delight of a child”.
Apart from all that has, can and will be said about Pele the man, it’s this quote that inspired this writing; it ignited again, this simple and obvious recognition: people recognized themselves in ‘Pele’…if only for a while. Something about him appealed to us then, as it appeals to us now. To all humanity and all occupants in all worlds, it seems:
We love to play.
I’ve been walking and hiking for decades, and one of the things I’ve often noted in daily watching of my fellow critters – all human, animal, plant and divine – is that we – all of us, everywhere, love to play, to enjoy…to love, deeply, simply, easily. It’s our nature to love, and play. To play is love, loving.
Stay home wherever you are, be quiet and play, yes 🙂
