The Power of Play
Why is play so important? Can play really be a path to peace — a long-term solution to the intractable patterns of violence?
Relationships
In a pure state of play, defenses crumble and people are no longer conscious of the self. When we laugh, fear melts away. The atmosphere of play enables people to connect directly, unfettered by prevailing prejudices.
Attitudes change and people connect as they open their hearts to new friendships once considered impossible. Rather than looking backward to clashes and heartache, people look forward in a spirit of collaboration and conciliation. Former enemies come together to create a place to live in peace side-by-side.
The Biology of Play
Human beings remember emotion-laden events far better than neutral experiences, which is one reason why moments of joy or despair can leave profound, ineradicable impressions.
The buoyant emotional charge of play, according to some neuroscientists, can spark chemical processes that help the formation of strong memories. Positive encounters of any kind will encourage the growth of new pathways in the brain's networks.
And positive encouters with people considered different — people whom children might normally be taught to fear, taunt, or hate — will lead to long-term, positive hard-wiring of the brain’s limbic system, the seat of the emotions.
Play and highly-charged, energetic positive interactions will form the foundation for a new mindset.