----PLAYFUL------

Apparently the possession of
humor implies the
possession of a number of
typical habit-systems. The
first is an emotional one: the
habit of playfulness. Why
should one be proud of
being playful? For a double
reason. First, playfulness
connotes childhood and
youth. If one can be playful,
one still possesses something
of the vigor and the joy of
young life . . . • But there
is a deeper implication. To
be playful is, in a sense, to
be free. When a person is
playful, he momentarily
disregards the binding
necessities which compel
him, in business and morals,
in domestic and community
life. . . . • What galls us is
that the binding necessities
do not permit us to shape
our world as we please. . . .
What we most deeply
desire, however, is to create
our world for ourselves.
Whenever we can do
that, even in the slightest
degree, we are happy. Now
in play we create our own
world. . . .
—PROFESSOR H . A .
OVERSTREET, INFLUENCING
HUMAN BEHAVIOR