In my spiritual leadership class this fall we have had to come up with a self-care project. Mine is play. I just don't play enough! In the midst of the demands of ministry (emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally) I need to care for myself by having moments of fun sprinkled throughout my day/week.
In my intellectual "research" on play I came across this quote:
"Play exists for its own sake.
Play is for the moment; it is not hurried,
even when the pace is fast and timing seems important.
When we play, we also celebrate holy uselessness.
Like the calf frolicking in the meadow, we need no pretense or excuses.
Work is productive;
play, in its disinterestedness and self-forgetting,
can be fruitful."
play, in its disinterestedness and self-forgetting,
can be fruitful."
Margaret Guenther in Toward Holy Ground
I have a long way to go to integrate more holy uselessness into my days. But I am convinced playfulness is a more important part of my spiritual formation than I ever imagined. To give myself permission to play feels like swimming upstream in the culture of ministry. I must pay attention to all of the compulsions and resistance that keep me from engaging in playfulness.
How are you playing/being holy useless this week?
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