Like meditation, after play the world looks brighter, clearer and more delightful.

 

After all, it's no accident that after meditating for a few hours, we spontaneously start to play. Animal biologists tell us that if a young animal is under stress, it won't play. But as soon as it starts to feel safe... well, let the games begin! Most of us modern humans have gotten the saber-toothed tigers and woolly mastodons under control. We experience chronic stress not because our lives are in any real danger but because we believe our incessant, neurotic thoughts (and let's face it, it's a jungle in there). So the most direct path to safety is to turn down the volume of our minds and arrive with all our awareness in the present moment -- where it's safe.

 

The present moment is, in fact, the only doorway to the playground. You can't get there from not here. And when we do get here the playground doors burst wide open and unleash our spontaneous free play. In short, when we're present we become wise and everything becomes play.