Play
Today in the garden I got caught up in a ridiculous activity: trying several different methods, manual and electric, to remove a splitting wedge that I had foolishly and needlessly pounded into a stump, because I had set it in a place too thick to split. I wasted over an hour on this endeavor, and the wedge is still there. I gathered and bagged up the chips and sawdust for mulch, just to have something to show for my efforts.
Thing is, I didn't really need the wedge or the wood I would have gotten, and that kind of time-wasting usually bugs me. But this time I noticed a certain clarity and calmness of mind afterwards and realized that I had lost myself in the activity, in a healthy processing sort of way, exercising my creativity. Sometimes when this happens, especially in the garden, I think that this is my way of learning to play as an adult, and not only play, but reap the psychic benefits of it.