Monday, March 07, 2005

Playing Instructions For Adults That Forgot How…

I am sitting in my cubicle and I can’t see anything but walls. I can feel that it is a nice spring day outside but I can’t see it. I can smell it, I can even go on the web and look at a weather cam of it, yet I cannot go out and play.

Yesterday, I played football for about three hours and then went caving for about five hours. It was a beautiful day. I have told you about our football games before so I won’t bore you. But, caving is a whole new animal. Have you ever gone through such a small cave that you had to lay down and army crawl through it? How about one so tight that you get stuck and you have to actually exhale to squeeze your chest through? By the way, your birth does not count… Caving or spelunking, is really fun, it is a whole mix of rock climbing and crawling and exploring. I highly recommend it.

It is funny how there is this huge world outside our door (or cubicle) to explore and enjoy that has been traded for entertainment. Have we resorted to watching a movie of adventure and passion to feel passion, to watching life but never living it? Have we forgotten how to go outside and take delight in the world around us, or have we substituted comfort for delight?

Caving and climbing may not be your thing, but how about walking, hiking or just watching the stars. I saw a commercial on TV the other day that was telling families to go ride there bikes or play some outside games for exercise. It seems a little sad our TVs have to tell us this… Something is very wrong. Go outside and play! I know, I sound like a little kid, But, when it comes to things like this, I hope I always sound like a kid.

12 comments:

LiVEwiRe said...

As usual, it sounds like you're on to something!

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to go caving. Trust me, that makes you a REALLY dorky 11 year old. Better judgement has kept me from trying it for oh so many reasons, but I still admire the idea of it. I still find ways to play. So many people I know look at me and I can see the question and disbelief in their eyes when I toss off the socks and shoes and go hopping in puddles in the summer. They usually enlighten me with such sage offerings as ... 'you'll get wet!' Well, duh! Catching frogs is fun, too. And wading on the shore. Hiking is great, too - it takes you to a new world every time.

I hope that I never lose my sense of silliness, and the way it's going, I'm not in any immediate danger. I agree with you a million percent! Step away from the cubicle and go be a kid again! Live your life and whatever you do... don't be afraid to get dirty! =)

Aaron Bynum said...

They really don't want you to play outside, because then you wouldn't be watching their shows and/or advertisements. I think the real intent here is to get people to say "Gee, this station really is concerned about my familie's well-being. We should watch it more often." I really want to get rid of our televisions. I'm implementing an evening walk policy in our home (of course I won't call it that).

N said...

I've been trying to get my friends together for a game of basketball for almost a year now and it hasn't worked out (yet)! Some people are just not 'outdoorsy' so it demotivates others (like myself) to do outdoor activities.
I miss being a kid :(



http://pwincessdiaries.blogspot.com

Mags said...

This is going to sound really stupid, I realize. But I'm going to say it anyway. I think it's super cool that you go spelunking. I really do. I would try it, but I'd be too scared that something would cave in. Or I'd run into bugs. What can I say. :-)

Anonymous said...

A cave. That reminds me: Dr. Seymour McCrack is in the office!

Anonymous said...

Don't think caving would be my thing looking at that pic *quivvers with fear* Now watching the stars on a clear summers night - that's gorgeous.

Sylow_P said...

Where do you go spelunking in Idaho?

Sylow_P said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The Cure said...

There are a lot of coves in Idaho, The ones that we were at are by a town called Mountain Home.

Sylow_P said...

I grew up in southern Idaho. I just didn't know there were any good spelunking caves around there. Kuna is the only thing anyone talks about, and that gets filled in with mud every year.

The Cure said...

I hate Kuna caves... the ones in mountain home are way better and hardly anybody knows about them. There are about 5 seperate caves. Some go over 100 Ft down. Also a place called Leslie Gulch has some good caves and rock climbing.

Sylow_P said...

Yeah, Kuna Caves are fairly lame for spelunking. Their legends are interesting though. In the late 60's my father and some of his friends tried to dig through going south. The U.S. Army in the late 1800's believed that the cave had an opening near Snake River, and that native americans (one in particular) would use the passage to evade the army patrols.

My dad and his friends dug several miles in going south. They found lots of caverns with Indian artifacts, but every spring it would flood again and they'd have to start all over.