# ... or we could have fun Ian Day puts it in terms of imperfection, and I’ll paraphrase him here: the process is imperfect, and it’s because of the imperfection that we’re able to progress *at all*. Abe (who’s sitting next to me here) put in terms of *deviation*: “We have such solid patterns… but how do we make sure that it’s not *all* solid patterns?” The trick with talking about “fun”, or even in creating a space for it, is that it *is* a matter of creating space—a gap, an opening, a break in the pattern. A *flaw*, even, in the pristinely regular, *so that life can emerge through the crack*. We’re pattern-makers, yes, but life *glories* in openly defying the patterns. That’s evolution, right? A million deviations, each vying for their own next generation. So when we talk about *fun* here, it’s in the space of a quick wink across the room—because to even *dwell* on the subject would defeat the purpose. We can’t methodically *deliver* our fun to you, nor can we import fun from elsewhere. But we *can* make space for fun. We can check ourselves when the rhythm becomes too perfect, and in that moment we can suspend time, for a heartbeat, and in the next we can consciously yield to *play*. It’s an invitation to curiosity, an invocation of freedom—like parents to ourselves, we gently, fondly, appreciate ourselves for the work we’ve put into building *whatever* we’re building, before shooing ourselves out into the yard to play. And that’s a pretty good description of what Abe and I are doing this year. We’ve declared it, loudly, as a year of FUN, shouting mostly to ourselves, to make sure we hear it through the denseness of our own damn minds. :) And even *that* I say with an inward wink, because *yes* my mind can be so fuckin’ dense it develops its own gravity, and *yes* I can have a sense of humor about that, and *that* is just as valid a door to play as any. We’ve found already that labeling this year as FUN has given us a filter, and the metaphor there is a direct one: some things just don’t fit through the filter, and the very act of *filtering* makes us extra conscious of where the life is, and where the life *isn’t*. I currently believe that life—at the highest level—*is play*. If I’m right, then all the dramas and despairs we experience are for contrast, or for relief (in the sculptural sense). And *if* I’m right, then the “lightward” direction can also be described in terms of straight up, undignified, weird-ass, unpredictable, *fun*. P.S. And if any of it ends up looking dignified or not-weird or graceful, it’s because we usually communicate in slow motion—and *everyone* looks cool in slow motion. ;) {% hint style="info" %} Originally published at {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://www.isaacbowen.com/2022/02/or-we-could-have-fun.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.