Are There Room For Fun?

[onilsson]

HEY!
I am curious about what you guys think about having fun while "on the path".

Fun can of course be defined many ways and what is fun differs from person to person, but I use it in a very broad sense. 

I have been "serious" for quite some time and now this summer I've put "the path" a bit on hold and just enjoyed myself and tried to explore music, dancing, meeting new people, not having the agenda of making every discussion a deep philosophical one. 

I clearly see that this comes down to a balancing act.

- and i am not a lil curious on your thoughts and maybe some practical examples of how you balance the serious with the un-serious.

Where do you draw the line?

I would for example go on a Tinder-date, or hang out with friends, go on a hike, or listen to music etc etc - but would not get myself drunk in the name of fun. Or eat candy till im stuffed. 

love love love 

[hinawashi]

Depends on what you define as fun. If you meant humor, then I'd encourage you to go for it. Make fun of yourself and crack a few jokes. That's the perfect way to let go of yourself but also appreciate yourself in a meaningful way.

On the other hand, if you mean what kind of fun activities you do in your spare time, like partying and drinking yourself into a coma (just kidding), I think a good way to draw the line would be to see whether it's good for you. Yes, you are allowed to do anything but not everything is good for you. Not just physical health, but also ask what are some long-term effects they will have on your psyche.

[Visitor]

@onilsson Relate to others as yourself (past and present). Then you can see the funny side of both the ignorant and not so ignorant side of yourself with others.

Live and let live is always a good motto when dealing with others. However, if the other is suffering and wishes to not be so, then a bit of humor about yourself, being in a similar situation to them, can bring some fun into the relationship with others. In this way the so-called serious side is supplemented with humor (the joke being on yourself). 

To be able to laugh at yourself is a very good way to create self-acceptance. So while having fun at yourself, you are growing towards authenticity.

[Shin]

Depends if you see yourself drawn into it and think you need it to be happy or actually just enjoying it as it comes to you.

We usually chase fun to be happy, but if you can be happy by sitting and doing nothing, why would you chase it ?

[WaterfallMachine]

I don't really define a specific amount of time for each. I just listen to my body. How tired am I feeling? How stressed I am by all the changes I'm putting in my life? 

Often when I leave the "serious work", I start to miss it somehow. I get a sense of meaningless and loss of purpose in not following my own goals in life. So that gets me back.

Other people do schedule breaks and schedule work time. I used to do more. But the deeper I go into personal development, I just get out of "serious work" and "fun time" naturally. Maybe it's because sometimes they're the same thing. 

[onilsson]

@WaterfallMachine Ah well put ! I can for sure resonate with that. It comes and goes. Sometimes the seriousness needs to be on a break for a lil while and I just want to keep it light and playful for a day or maybe a week, and then after getting that out of my system there is a "calling" to going back to more "serious work". And I also agree with how a loss of purpose arises when you have been "slacking" for too long

[Danka]

also depends if "seriousness" means intellectual masturbation, or actual effort/non-masturbatory thought-patterns

[onilsson]

@Danka I don't know why it's become such a trendy thing to be dissing "intellectual masturbation"?

Sure I do a lot of practices and techniques - but I also  feel I get a lot out of mere thinking and contemplating. 

 

[Saarah]

@onilsson I feel like it would help you especially by following your intuition, if you're too practical about things you disconnect yourself from your authentic nature, and it's by following our authentic nature, being happy and getting into the flow of things we can function from a better place and get better results 

There's the obvious traps of falling into addictions etc but that's not intuition and higher guidance 

Being in that place of flow will sometimes look like being practical and strategic, or intensity and sometimes will look like a more laid back vibe, it's like zooming into details and zooming out to the big picture of what you're doing