Cutting Grass

Many people wonder why my wife loves to cut grass, sometimes even twice a day, when she is in the mood. The answer is quite simple, but also complex, I suppose. First, it's an extremely efficient way to get some exercise. Instead of hitting a gym, walking or running, she pushes a lawnmower. It usually takes 45 minutes to cut it once, and the pushing as well as walking is great exercise. It also involves a sense of closure, as at the end of the task, the lawn does look wonderful, green, evenly cut, a reminder to my neighbor to buck up. It also is a mindless task, so that one can lose oneself in the doing, a form of meditation I suppose, of cultivating mindfulness, concentrating on the doing. Is it a form of play? I suppose, in that it's not something she must do; it is fun and though there is a goal, it does not get in the way of enjoying the doing. I bring up the idea of play as I am reading a book called PLAY, which argues that play is essential to learning, to growth, to happiness and we must not allow ourselves to become so serious that we leave play out of our lives. Reading and writing can be a form of play, as is this attempt to understand my wife's passionate affair with a lawn mower. Let my mind move freely, from thought to thought, seeing where it takes me, without limits is a form of play as well. I think that I have avoided play, or at least the idea of it, as if it were childish and not grown up. But the book has made me rethink this generalization, see that I might play more than I think, and has convinced me to be more open to playful opportunities as well as see how teachers might work play into the classroom. Homo Ludens emphasized the idea of play as I recall and early in the 1980's we had a Knight Fellow who talked about the importance of sports and play. As usual, the school did little if anything with his insights and I had even forgotten it until now. Perhaps he was really on to something or maybe we are just more receptive to physical activitiy now then we were in the early 80's. To come full cirlce, the lawn is almost done, the leaves have been mulched, and the air is filled with cut grass.