A Few Thoughts About Fun

As I said, I've been thinking about fun lately.  I have a lot of pleasant, relaxing, contented moments in my life -- maybe more than at any time previous -- but I think I have less "fun."  

What do I mean by "fun"?  That's part of what I've been thinking about.  I mean something different from simple enjoyment, which I get from reading, watching a movie, cooking, going outside with the dogs.    

I'm an extrovert.  Fun for me used to include some component of meeting new people, or having surprising and unexpected and novel interactions with people I already knew.  I'm not so sure that's what fun means to me now.  Fun used to mean a lot of silliness -- nicknames and invented games and funny rituals.  I don't know if those same things would be fun right now.  I used to gather people together for things that involved laughter and eating and some form of competition: game nights and Olympics and Feasts.  Some of those sound fun to me now and some of them sound almost, but not quite, fun.  

I get a whole lot of my extroversion itch scratched at work now.  I don't long to meet more fascinating people, because the great privilege of my life so far is that I've already gotten to know so many, and I know it is already impossible to maintain a strong connection with the ones I know right now.    

What is fun?  Making things is fun.  Excursions are fun.  Rituals can be fun, as can silliness -- making a big deal out of something small, or going to elaborate lengths on something.  But those things can also feel forced or lame, so it really depends on the tone.  Pranks are fun, when the recipient thinks so too.  

There's more to say, but I'll get to it eventually.  

Comments

[SCC]

I recently played "Smash Putt," a temporary indoor mini golf course in Seattle. It was an "interactive art piece" put together by a bunch of guys. At one hole, you shot your ball from an air cannon. At another, you launched your ball from a catapult. The great thing about the activity was that it really had no purpose except fun. The creators had obviously had fun making it, and they were sharing their fun with us (for a small sum, of course).

[al]

SCC - that sounds really fun! Mini golf + air cannon? YES!