Introduction
Play remains a unique practice that animals and human beings execute in their lives. People define practical rules for games, experience feelings of joy and tension, and complete them within the limits of place and time. Over the years, play has influenced a wide range of human aspects, such as politics, civilization, economics, and cultural dynamics. Analysts would find the concept meaningful in the interpretation of people’s past experiences and future goals. People who fail to follow the outlined rules of play explain why spoiled sports exist today. More often than not, culprits will tend to receive befitting punishment, including being banned from ongoing tournaments or future participations. Historical analyzes can help learn more about labor as a form of play and its unique relation with wages. Through the lens of play, it is possible for individuals to learn how to apply rules, get out of the natural world, unwind, and appreciate how modernity has triggered new ways of earning wages.
The Role of Play in My Life Experience
Huizinga’s book, Homo Ludens, offers a detailed analysis and description of play. He defines it as any form of activity that might not be that serious while the participants have intensity. The researcher reveals that both animals and human beings will engage in the practice. During the process, competitors follow the outlined set of rules and boundaries even if there are no defined profits. Performers in play acknowledge that activity is important in their lives. For instance, Huizinga indicates that play has been a unique aspect of every civilization (2). It helps individuals acquire additional competencies for interacting with others and animals while improving their social and cultural dynamics. This viewpoint sheds more light on the nature and success of human communities and how people relate with each other. In life, players can acquire problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking abilities. They will develop communication and interactional competencies while improving their bodies’ responsive mechanisms. Play will take place anywhere since participants need to set the right space and conditions.
I am presently a member of a baseball team comprised of individuals with similar ambitions. Whenever engaging in this kind of a sport, I find it easier to get rid of my anxieties. The experience takes me out of the natural world by freeing my thought. During the sport, it becomes possible to forget most of the things and focus on winning. This practice or mindset is crucial since play is intended to help the body and mind unwind, relax, and experience spiritual healing. Huizinga indicates that “tension adds to the importance to the game, as it increases, enables the player to forget that he is only playing” (51). Whenever engaging in this game, I compete for a spot in the team so as to unwind and refresh my soul. The childhood memories associated with this sporting activity delivers a feeling of freedom. I usually find it easier to forget about my surrounding environment and focus on the best approaches to achieve my future goals. Those who embrace these key initiatives will be in a position to reap maximum benefits associated with play.
In the studied text, the reader observes that games need to have unique principles. Huizinga argues that such rules are important since “they determine what holds in the temporary world circumscribed by play” (11). Such rules will be “binding and allow no doubt” (Huizinga 11). The move to ignore such rules will destroy the play atmosphere, thereby triggering feelings of apathy from the involved members. A sport becomes spoiled when someone breaks the outlined regulations. Cheats are individuals who chose to break the presented rules and will be held accountable and be required to apologize or face the relevant punitive measures. In the world of real sports, spoiled sports tend to be common. For example, some baseball players have been found to take enhancement substances in an effort to outperform their competitors. Such a malpractice is punishable since it undermines the integrity of play. Similarly, chess players who engage in cheating tend to be dropped out of the ongoing tournament (Keener). A spoiled sport results in the banning of the person who has broken the rule.
Conflicts and the manner in which wars are fought have evolved with every new civilization. Huizinga argues that “fighting as a cultural function always presupposes limiting rules, and it requires, to a certain extent anyway, the recognition of its play-quality” (96). Traditionally, people pursued war as play by identifying the best rules, such as protecting young ones. In the recent times, fighting has become a human practice that has limited rules or agreements, a trend that gives it the quality of a play. In conflicts, rules play a critical role towards protecting spectators and ensuring that they do not get injured. For instance, individuals can show signs of respect by bowing before engaging in any form of fight. However, war has not longer remained a game anymore. The case of the Russian-Ukraine conflict reveals that some countries might break the outlined rules for wars. Such malpractices can result in the death of innocent civilians. With all these observations, it becomes clear that civilizations have emerged due to researches, investigations, and pursuits intended to perfect fighting abilities. Most of the emerging inventions have become part of the civilian world, thereby helping push civilizations to the next level.
Based on the insights evident in the studied text, it would be arguable that beating money on a given play would not be considered a play but gambling. For instance, Huizinga observes that “people compete to be first in strength or dexterity, in knowledge or riches, in splendors, liberality, noble descents, or in the number of their progeny” (52). This quotation indicates that play is instrumental towards improving the body’s resilience and strengthen. Competition encourages them to remain more involved and willing to achieve greater goals (Huizinga 50). Based on this understanding, any act that entails the use of money would be disqualified from the original definition of play. Instead, analysts would view it as a form of gambling that is capable of resulting in huge financial losses. Horse racing becomes a good example of a sporting activity that does not meet the minimum threshold of a game or play. Since such an event is founded on the tents of betting, many people view it as a form of gambling.
Most of the activities human beings and animals undertake tend to have unique elements of play. The important thing is for the involved participants to consider, define, and follow the outlined rules. Those who engage in such a practice will find new meanings in life. Huizinga acknowledges that all human activities emerged in play, whether economic, social, economic, or political (50). Labor became an integral part of play and the subsequent festivities. Through such practices, those who engaged in the provision of services and labor were able to get wages. By completing a wide range of playful activities, it was possible for people to get financial resources. Unfortunately, things have changed today in when contrasted with the activities of Huizinga’s time. Specifically, rationalization and intellectualization are new processes that characterize modern days. Consequently, people are unable to focus on play and imagination. The emerging rationalization of labor has removed the playful attributes that used to define labor. Wages have become different today since people pursue them from mechanized or programmed processes.
Conclusion
The above discussion has presented numerous insights that guide more people to learn more about the importance of play in their lives. When done correctly, individuals can find new meaning in the process and learn how to overcome most of the predicaments they face in their lives. They will master how to apply and follow rules, solves notable challenges, and promote the success of their communities. Games that result in the loss of money would not be defined as play, such as horse racing. Cheats and spoilers will be condemned for affecting the integrity of play. While play delivers numerous historical, economic, and cultural advancements, modern civilizations have led to new trends that redefine the manner in which people can get wages. A proper analysis of these lessons can make it easier for more people to identify evidence-based strategies for getting the most out of play.
Works Cited
Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Angelico Press, 2016.
Keener, Greg. “The Chess World Isn’t Ready for a Cheating Scandal.” The New York Times, Web.