Unsophisticated

The month of May in "The Happiness Project" is devoted to getting serious about play--making the most of leisure time. One of the author's discoveries resonated with me.

"I love the idea of playing chess, going to a lecture on international markets, doing crossword puzzles, getting a pedicure, eating a dinner at a hot new restaurant, or having a subscription to the opera...I wish I enjoyed them. But I don't."

I happen to love crossword puzzles, but I get the sentiment. She felt guilty for not having more cultured interests and hid her love of children's books because she thought she should be reading more mature themes.

I think to a certain extent, we all hide behind our more "legitimate" hobbies. My sister recently told me that at first she was embarrassed to tell everyone that our family vacation last year was to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (she got over it). And I admit, I'm much more likely to tell someone that I saw "Mamma Mia", went to the Monet exhibit, and listened to Learn Italian CDs this weekend (which I did--wow, cultured weekend!) than I am to say that I had just as much fun playing Girl Talk Jenga and watching The Lightning Thief last month at work.

But if there is one thing being hammered into my head as I read "The Happiness Project", it's that, in order to be happy, I have to first "Be Laura" (well, the author says, "be Gretchen", but you get the point). I must stretch myself, yes, and go outside my comfort zone, but I must also admit that I will NEVER enjoy dancing in public, shopping for clothes, or oysters. And that I happen to like adolescent fiction, SpongeBob easy mac, Disney movies, and Dolly Parton songs.

I think C.S. Lewis hit the nail on the head: "When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

So if in the near future, you find yourself wanting to fingerpaint, play on a swingset, watch cartoons, or order a Shirley Temple, I say go for it! We can always go to the opera next weekend.