“When the spiritual life feels so uprooted, it can be almost impossible to believe—or even to consider—that what’s really going on is a graceful process of liberation, a letting go of old, limiting habits to make room for a fresh openness to love.”
—Gerald May, The Dark Night of the Soul
In Everyday Contemplative: The Way of Prayerful Living, Roger Owens asks, “What would it look like to practice not just contemplative praying—set times of open, attentiveness to the Divine—but contemplative living?” And he offers eight spiritual practices that we might experiment with to transform more and more of our lives into an ongoing contemplative reality. Scanning the list of practices in the book, the one that challenges me most is “Dropping Our Seriousness: Playfulness.” Because, you see, I’m very serious. I take my work seriously. I take my exercise seriously. I take my family seriously. I even take my hobbies—which are for fun and relaxation—seriously. The invitation to drop my seriousness feels like asking me to drop an integral part of who I am.
But as Roger is gifted at doing, he turns playfulness on its head for me. He suggests that “a playful posture says that nothing is determined.” Playfulness doesn’t mean being irresponsible or fantastical; it means remaining undefined or without bounds. If we approach playfulness as a posture of openness to many possibilities, then we might be able to free ourselves from the limitations we feel. In each moment, a practice of playfulness challenges us to drop our seriousness and pick up creativity. Practicing playfulness invites us to believe in divine possibilities beyond our limited human perspective. Practicing playfulness invites us to imagine bridges we can build between our current understanding and the emerging reality of the beloved community.
As we enter Holy Week, we don’t often categorize it as a time for playfulness, but I can think of no better example of God’s creativity, Jesus’ openness, and the Spirit’s ability to expand possibilities beyond human imagination. Jesus will travel this week with a radical belief in God’s love and abiding presence. He will live faithfully in the face of betrayal, assault, and even death. Maybe the spiritual practice of playfulness is what allowed Jesus to heal the soldier’s ear, never say a mumblin’ word in the presence of his accusers, forgive those who knew not what they were doing, and assure criminals he would see them in paradise. His actions are contemplative living at their best.
Easter is a celebration of divine possibilities beyond our human imagination! When all of life seems uprooted and God’s plan of love seems thwarted, “what’s really going on,” as Gerald May says, “is a graceful process of liberation, a letting go of old, limiting habits to make room for a fresh openness to love.” As an Easter people, let us drop the seriousness that can bind us and instead live into playful and divine possibilities.
Kara Lassen Oliver serves as the Associate Publisher and Executive Director of Content of The Upper Room. This article first appeared in the April issue of The Upper Room Journal, a monthly newsletter to support you in creating daily life with God. Subscribe here.
Photograph by Isabella Fischer / Unsplash
Journal Prompts
Name some ways you want to practice playfulness during this Holy Week and beyond.
What would help you to drop your seriousness and embrace greater openness to divine possibilities?
Share your responses with others in the comments below!
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