Beyond Blue: John McManamy (That's Me) Talks About Play

My favorite blogger, Therese Borchard of Beyond Blue, recently interviewed me on the topic of play, which she broke down into three pieces, published today:

Five Steps to Having More Fun

Play is Crucial to Good Mental Health

Operating Instructions: This is How You Play

Following is a brief excerpt from that interview:

Question: John, could you outline maybe five steps to help the readers have more fun in their lives?

John: Now there you go, Therese, asking tough questions. Look, I already told you I'm an expert in feeling miserable. Why don't you ask me to share my secrets on getting high scores on your math SATs while you're at it? Geesh - okay-okay-okay. I'm thinking ..

1. - Enjoy the peanut butter. As you can see in the picture, here I am trying to explain to Spock the concept of peanut butter. Spock is telling me that peanut butter is not logical (Cardassian tofu apparently is) which is exactly my point. Forget about the bread. Stick a fork in the jar and go for it.

"Enjoy the peanut butter" is my metaphor for living in the present. It comes from an old Zen parable about savoring strawberries as tigers are about to rip you apart. The present is where life is happening, here, right now.

For lots more, please click the links above or visit Beyond Blue's home page. Therese is a brilliant writer, with great insights and a keen sense of humor. At the same time, she never forgets who she is and the challenges she faces in getting through each day. I can't recommend her blog enough.