When was the last time you played? Im not talking about watching TV game shows or playing in some game at work where stress and humiliation are skillfully masked under the guise of motivational fun. Im talking about an enjoyable activity with no agenda, no timeframe and no anxiety about how messy you get or how foolish you look. Something you choose to do, not have to do. Playing to play, not to win.

Often on the journey from childhood to adulthood, we forget how and why to play. One day we wake up...grown-up! Its as if theres some mysterious inner tour guide in our head saying, Its now time to leave Barbie and her pink camper behind and enter the real world of serious thinkers and doers. And hence, a long stretch of all work and no play begins. (Remember the psycho Jack Nicolson became in the movie, The Shining, when that happened!)

But we dont have to give up on our inner child so easily. One day, while I was walking by a park near my home with Joe and our dogs, we repeated a dialog we had a number of times while passing this park.

I said, I used to love to go on the swings when I was a kid.

He said, So why dont you?

I said, Me? Here? I would look silly.

But on this day, all the swings were empty, and when he nudged me again, I decided to go for it. I sat my butt down on the flexible seat (hmmm, a lot cushier than my childhood swing set consisting of hard metal seats with steel posts loosely anchored to the ground by a chunk of cement that dangerously lifted off the grass when you went high). I started the motions of bending and straightening my legs, gradually adding height and speed. (Its like riding a bikeyou never forget.) Within seconds, I was engulfed by that familiar rush of wind in my hair and tickling in my belly. As I got higher, I started laughing out loud and yelled down to Joe like a five-year-old, Look, I can touch the sky! When I was ready to come down, I gently scraped my feet on the soft brown bark below me, slowing down just enough for a flying dismount. I could still do it! I was young again. That was my first of many visits to my neighborhood swing setjust for the fun of it!

Play is so easy to do (after all, kids can do it 16 hours a day) and it doesnt have to cost much. Next time youre in a toy department, spend a couple bucks and buy a brightly colored, or perhaps striped hoola-hoop. Its guaranteed to provide loads of laughter either by yourself (watching in a mirror, of course) or when your friends come to visit. It will take you a while to get the hang of it again, so heres a hint: angle it lower in the front and make the first swing slower than you think you need. Then let the gyrating begin!

A Goddess is never too old to play. Remember Cindi Laupers 1983 hit song, Girls Just Want to Have Fun? In 2003, at fifty years old, Cindi was still performing that song on tour. I happened to catch her on a VH1 Divas Live special in 2004; she was a delight to watchstill singing, dancing and smiling...still having fun.

5 Ways to Play:

Take a break to play with your kids whether its a board game, bicycling, running around the back yard or jumping in rain puddles.

Try to make ordinary household chores playful (sing silly made-up songs while youre doing them, have a pillow fight with your bed making partner).

Make a list of your favorite childhood games or activities and commit to doing one of them weekly.

When youre especially stressed at work, distract yourself for a few minutes with something mindless (doodle, walk outside, pick a flower).

Once in a while, honor your inner child by playing first and working later.