YANGPYEONG FALL JOURNAL | WEEK 4
October 17 Entry
In the grand tradition of play, I have become an “evangelist” of play during this trip. Enneagram type 7 in me has been on full unhindered display. Additionally, in this season, my wife considers play as one of her spiritual disciplines, maybe for the first time in her life. Buoyed by her latest pursuit, I have seized the opportunities to play, every chance I can get. In recent years, I have considered play as an integral part of rest and the Sabbath. Play and pray are essential components of a true sabbath. Eugene Peterson writes in his fine book, Working the Angles: The shape of pastoral integrity:
Puritan sabbaths that eliminated play were a disaster. Secular Sabbaths that eliminate prayer are worse. Sabbath-keeping involves both playing and praying. The activities are alike enough to share the same day and different enough to require each other for a complementary wholeness.
On the Sabbath, John Calvin led his congregation in prayers in the morning and played skittles in the afternoon with people in Geneva. For decades, playing weekly “sabbath” basketball has been deeply therapeutic and profitable for maintaining my soul’s wholeness. I even get to play basketball with my son and my son-in-law on a weekly basis when I am in Pasadena. For an almost 60-year-old man, life does not get any better than this. The pursuit and discipline of “complementary wholeness” Peterson writes has become a lost art. We, especially those who are spiritual, have denigrated play as what children do during their innocent years. Since when did we get the idea that adults have to be serious? Somehow seriousness has been wrongfully translated into dedication, devotion, and deep spirituality.
This time, we brought several card games from the US with a serious intention to play. Clearly, we were going to find time and ways to play. As such, we have had numerous opportunities to play. Over the weekend, we were with a group of friends we have been doing community with. We reserved a church facility in Suwon and spent two nights together. Other than walking along the picturesque reservoir where the trees were beginning to turn colors, we were at a church facility playing and praying. I played badminton for the first time in decades. I grew up playing countless hours of badminton in front of the house where I grew up. Badminton is easy to play (unless there is strong wind) because the equipment is not expensive, and one does not need big real estate. After waving comically at nothing but air with my racket for the first few swings triggering laughter from the “audience,” my body reached deep into my childhood memory bank and figured out how to play. When I first saw the playground, what I noticed was the basketball hoop (no net though, which is a serious downside), but I wanted to keep my cool. One problem. It’s dirt with uneven ground. And I was wearing my usual flip-flops. After badminton, others began flocking around the basketball hoop. Sure enough, someone suggested playing some random Korean basketball games (such as the US’s version of Around the World, Knock Out, etc). Then we migrated to playing 3 on 3 on a dirt basketball court with flip-flops on. The problem was overcome because I simply ignored the problem. And we had a blast waking up the inner child in each of us.
After eating delivered dishes of Jajang myeon (Korean Chinese black bean noodle dish), Gul Jjambong (Oyster and vegetable noodle soup), Japche Bap (Marinated glass noodles with assorted vegetables over rice), Tang Suyuk (Korean sweet and sour pork with sauce on the side), and some fried Mandus, the evening was set for more play. We broke out the games we brought: The Mind, Five Crowns, and Dutch Blitz. We started a few rounds of speedy Dutch Blitz with separate men and women groups since only a maximum of 4 people can play. My wife, who confessed before the game how terrible she is at playing games, won the entire round, showcasing her own steady style. Others rightfully were amazed at how poised and controlled she was. The sports adage that games tend to slow down for pros was on display. She was like a bashful resurrected Neo (in the Matrix movie) fighting against the agents with one hand, hardly breaking a sweat. Then we switched over to The Mind with all the children present and played until the children needed to call it a night. We were of one mind, playing like little children. I marveled at how great and wholesome it was that children got to play with their parents and parents’ friends. Then Five Crowns made its way with couples playing as one team. When we checked our time, it was 2 am in the morning!
Many commented through our playtime both in the afternoon and evening that some of the wearier and worn-out members got visibly renewed by playing. With our eyes sparkling and countenance brightened, laughter and childlike silliness filled our day, causing an upward spiral movement of unbridled laughter and joy. It was a fine sabbath day for all!