Life must be lived as PLAY          
                                                                                       -- Plato  (capitals mine)

                                                                        
I am living in a yurt.
I am living in a yurt on an island in the Atlantic. How’s that for ‘living life as play’?
I would love to have had lunch with Plato, and just let him talk to me about life – and play – and joy – and fun, all of which are high priority for me.

Esther Hicks (of Abraham channeling fame) speaks about ‘unconditional fun’. Imagine it if you can. I find the concept absolutely intoxicating.

For the more serious minded stoics out there, all this may seem a touch hedonist, but honestly, from my perspective, it’s what we are meant to do on this joyous planet.

Joyous, you say? With all the evil, wickedness, moral and ecological degradation going on daily, you call this ‘joyous’?

Ah, but that is human behaviour. Don’t blame the planet. She gives us sunsets and sunrises, moonshine on the ocean, pussy willows in springtime, the pine-scented forest, and not-to-be-missed, long, languid summer afternoons. She offers endless joy if we simply tune in. Is your radio on? Is the frequency right?

I have concluded, after decades of deliberation, that we are here on Earth to experience joy. Have you noticed how babies and little kids seem to know this instinctively? It’s their little world, until the adult world comes down like a hammer and splinters it into tiny pieces.

“Until ye become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven,” is how scripture explains it. “Heaven” meaning ‘living in-joy (enjoy) right here on Earth’.

So my purpose in this lifetime (and yours should you choose to believe in this) is to do whatever truly brings me joy, because what brings me joy is what the planet needs, and moreover, I then spread that joy around. I exude joy! And it’s catching! And that’s why we should NEVER be stuck in work that we hate or that brings us down, because we are not living our joy. And that is tragic.

How about it? Are you up for unconditional fun? It doesn’t have to be living in a yurt, although I must say that the latter does give a lighthearted perspective. I close the door quickly when leaving and entering, so as to keep out the grasshoppers and crickets, which serenade me endlessly. I do my yoga on the Persian rug that covers the earth floor and look up from my futon at night to see the stars peeking through the ‘tono’ – that round wood-framed circle at the top of the yurt.

Yurt living is close to the Earth, just the way I like it in summertime. Winter, maybe not so much.

But I digress. Are you up for joy unlimited? Exuding that joy? Looking at life through rose coloured glasses? Intentionally finding the fun in everything? ‘Unconditional fun’?

Life on Earth is a precious gift, handed to us to do with what we choose. It’s all about choice and the story we tell our self. Personally, I like happy endings. If I am the hero of my own story, she will be one joy-filled, fun-loving gal, start to finish. No matter what.

                                                                  Sing it now: Joy to the world
                                                                       All the boys and girls
                                                             Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
                                                                        Joy to you and me.  

                                                                                -- Annie Reyna (Three Dog Night)