Having Fun

The conflation of fantasy and everyday reality that makes my world enchanted argues for the importance of having FUN to an adult's continued development. Having fun offers patterns of existential meaning by which adults make sense of their changing world. 

For adults having FUN is clearly separated from everyday reality in that the fun is recognized as a symbolic representation of important features of life. But in my mind the symbols are literal, and through the intuitive interpretation of the world, I allow myself to live the symbols as quasi-realities. Experiencing the world in this fashion is similar in nature to turning every moment into what we call "first time" perspectives. The trick is to continue seeking novelty, even in the most habitual experiences. 

For me, enchantment is easily managed, and the stories I tell myself FUN. This sense of fun provides patterns for healthy growth and continued development. When development leads an individual to the recognition of the distinction between everyday reality and make-believe, continued development must include an aspect of joining these now separate concepts back together in creative, intriguing, or mesmerizing way. 

The meanings gained from the FUN aspect of our thoughts have already become patterns of experience, that is, the unthematized but horizontal schemata for action. The remembrance of having had FUN is incorporated into the enchanted lifestyle of the healthy adult such that as development continues the influence of joy and happiness that arises from having had FUN instills meaningful patterns that remain operative in the significance of the everyday life-world. 

The adult who retains the capacity to experience fun or create fun experiences out of ordinary ones renews the existential meaning of life in a new, fun, and creative way. For adults, having FUN is not merely the inculcation of archetypal or cultural patterns of meaning and value; it involves the creation of meaning and the discovery of value.