Second Life is an idea platform for playing. Most of us, when children in Real Life, instinctively knew how to play. But as we entered our adolescent years, we were taught that there are more important issues that require our attention, and the value of innocent play began shrinking away in significance. Of course adults in Real Life can and do play, but it is legitimized by making it highly structured. "Grown-up play" such as video games to professional sports, sort of tease around at the inborn desire to, but the need for rules and structures do not allow the same emotional, intellectual, and physical benefits that unstructured, childlike play offers. Second Life offers the opportunity to recapture and become immersed in innocent, non-directed, simple, childlike play. Think of it as re-learning how to play.
I discovered a tucked-away sort of place on Otium Beach that punched my innocent-play button. It was one one of the several tiny, isolated sandbar islands that has an animated campfire and a tent, complete with a sleeping bag for one or two occupants. Superficially, there isn't much to become excited about. Fiddling with the sleeping bag, you find it has only one pose. There are no choices of sits and sleeps, no snuggle animationss, and certainly (in keeping with the rules for Otium) nothing remotely sexual. A mind trained in "adult" thinking and a spirit that is overwhelmingly burdened with the cares of both worlds, sees little or nothing interesting here. Certainly there is nothing that would offer a pleasant, memorable experience. But that's the "adult" perspective.
The child in me saw an opportunity to play and explore some possibilities. First, and most dramatic, I adjusted the Sun to Midnight. Turning off the bright sunlight that normally characterizes a great day at the seashore; I found stars in a black sky, phosphorescent waves lapping near my feet, and the warm glow of the campfire creating a small world of peace and wonder. Finally, I turned off the local music, leaving only the sounds of the sea and the birds.
Having done that, I became lost in the surroundings and the engaging little pose the sleeping bag had to offer. I felt so much like a little girl again--a time when simple pleasures were all-consuming and meant so very much.
After some time, I realized there was one thing yet to be done.. It isn't that something was missing, it was more a matter of realizing there was something to add--a way to raise the experience to a whole new level: Share it with a great friend!
So here we are. Yes we are adults, but feeling more like two kids sharing a magical moment neither of us is likely to forget. Just simple play and companionship, unfettered by grown-up rules, assumptions, opinions, and drama. This is next to impossible in Real Life, but so readily available in Second Life for those of us who take the trouble to poke around in the forgotten corners of our spirits and rediscover the child we once were.
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