Do you remember your childhood playground days?
Was it a positive experience?
Did you feel safe and able to fully express your individuality?
We may like to think that we have put our playground days behind us, especially if they were unpleasant.
The truth is that life’s lessons will continue to play on us, until we pay attention, listen, and learn from them.
Our playground never leaves us. The toys have just changed. They may now be iPads and mobile phones, rather than swings and teeter-totters, but our playground is still the place where we hope to express our individuality and engage with our peers.
It makes sense, then, that we become aware of what is happening in our playground. Above all, our playground must be a place where we can feel completely safe – both physically and emotionally. Sadly, there are those who hid in the pipes when they were a child and are still hiding in adulthood.
It is in our best interests to ensure that our playground is a safe and healthy place. It not only allows us to play with the complete expression of ourselves, but creates an environment in which those scared people can come out of their shell, and add their particular individuality into the mix. This serves to increase the value of our life experiences.
When we were children, we may have had playground monitors to supervise our behavior and protect us from those children who weren’t playing by the rules. Since, we don’t have the benefit of having playground police in our adult world; we can be left with many questions.
In our adult playground we ask:
What are the rules?
Who is monitoring that they are complied with?
Who is training people on the rules?
What are the rules?
The rules of adult playground behavior are almost the very same rules that we were taught as children.
Be gentle and play well with others;
Be kind and helpful;
Be honest and do not cover up the truth;
Listen to people and do not interrupt them;
Care for your playground and environment;
Respect others feelings and do not hurt them;
Play nicely and do not spoil others games.
These are the basic premises that ensure safe and healthy interaction between people, and they should follow us throughout our entire life.
Who is monitoring that they are complied with?
What makes the adult playground more challenging is that we don’t have the benefit of having a playground monitor. Perhaps you didn’t have this benefit when you were a child either. Without the enforcement of safe rules, the environment becomes one of survival. This means that, all too often, the weak are dominated by the aggressors.
This is where, as adults, we have to rely on our understanding of the laws of the universe. Whatever religion or belief system it is that you have, there is a fundamental law called The Law of Reciprocity. This states that transmissions of energy result in a return of energy in like kind. Some people call this “Karma”, and others say “You sow what you reap”.
Those people who choose not to play by the rules will suffer from the “cause and effect” nature of their behavior. It is not our place to mete out judgment of the behavior to others. In some situations, we can be close enough to offer direction and guidance, and in situations where we are in harm’s way, we need to obtain the support of others or remove ourselves from the situation altogether. However, it is not our place to mete out the effect for each unpleasant cause. Phew!
Who is training people on the rules?
In a perfect world, every child would have been trained in every aspect of human behavior and interaction. They would enter adulthood already knowing how to show appropriate respect, kindness, and understanding of every situation. To that, I say “Impossible”. Most children will be doing well if they enter adulthood with a basic understanding of these concepts, yet will still require assistance of their application in our adult world.
Most of us will require further training. In fact, such training should be a lifelong goal, as we encounter different cultures in our shrinking world. It has been my goal to be a guide for women on this journey and to help them to improve the quality of their experiences in the playground of life.
I believe that every person should aim to develop their skills. We should be standing as an example as to correct playground behavior.
What playground experience has formed your belief today?
Share your experiences in the comments section below
