The best work is play, and the best play is work.
I learned that again when Ethan, our 6-year-old son, spent a fairly good chunk of Saturday making wonderful, beautiful, but especially labor-intensive birds.
And when he had finished a few, he asked Teresa if she wanted one. It was hard labor – each one took him the better part of an hour – but it was fun.
So was it work, or play?
I’ve started to think that these terms are not antagonistic but orthogonal … that the best of all possible human activities are high on both scales:
The best work is play, and the best play is work. And if you think about it, we should never settle for less … because we won’t do our best work unless it’s play, and we won’t play as hard as we possibly could unless it’s work.
I think I’m just going to decide not to settle. What about you?