<div class="text-justify">So today was a fun day. I was planning to make my first vlog and start putting videos in my posts but life happened and my video making is postponed until tomorrow. The sun was shining and after I washed that mountain of dishes that was mocking me from the kitchen, I decided to go out for a walk and have some coffee afterwards. One thing led to another and I ended up playing billiards for hours. That made me realise that "Never forget to PLAY" post was long overdue...</div>
<p></p>

<center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmaKQjRZ4nKt8QRjyQyXxTvRt7MVcohS96GBLAyzxrVy2d/IMG-20180309-WA0011.jpg</center>
<p></p>

# When was the last time you played?
<div class="text-justify">I have always enjoyed games. Sports games, social games, puzzles, even drinking games are a great way to make me smile and have some fun. Modern society often demands us to be serious and not indulge in those guilty pleasures that are unproductive. I am all aboard for productivity but how are we supposed to be productive if we never get our deserved recess? It has been proven that adults who regularly enjoy various games are more productive and more intuitive. Let us start with defining what playing is. Here is one of my favourite definitions:</div>
<p></p>

> "Play is something done for its own sake. It's voluntary, it's pleasurable, it offers a sense of engagement, it takes you out of time. And the act itself is more important than the outcome." 
Dr. Stuart Brown from [National Institute for Play](http://www.nifplay.org/)
<p></p>

<div class="text-justify">My strong point is that humans need to smile and enjoy life. Not everything we do has to have a world-changing consequence. Sometimes having pleasure is enough. When was the last time you had such a good laugh that you cried? </div>
<p></p>
<center><b>An hour of play discovers more than a year of conversation.</b></center>
<p></p>

<center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmWeqEkmbrLUF8SxJGXvATUNUUUwTUK4n5VyB75wcAbEop/IMG-20180309-WA0007.jpg</center>
<p></p>

# BENEFITS of play for ADULTS
<div class="text-justify">If you are not playing, you should start, and you should start yesterday :) Here are some of the benefits that will maybe push you towards that ball or a deck of cards.</div>
<p></p>

<b>ENERGIZED, and STRESS FREE</b>

I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said:
> "We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing"

<div class="text-justify">Playing will always give us a boost of energy, and it doesn't even have to be a competitive game. A game can be a catalyst for a better day because it will raise our endorphins and make us less stressed when dealing with usual stress factors.</div>
<p></p>

<b>BRAIN STIMULATION and a CREATIVITY BOOST</b>
<div class="text-justify">Activities that challenge our brain, like puzzles, chess, sudoku and mystery investigations, improve brain function and can even prevent memory loss. Playing stimulates our imagination and increases our problem-solving skills and the best way to prevent burnout at work is... You guessed it, to take some time and play.</div>
<p></p>

<b> IMPROVEMENT of SOCIAL SKILLS</b>
<div class="text-justify">Playing teaches us cooperations with others and engages us in the same patterns of behaviour that shaped the brains of children by making us follow mutually agreed upon rules. We socialize with others and experience positive changes in our emotional health.</div>
<p></p>

<center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmcbmCntocjsgqvCXcChZ2Da5apK2JjWzUCmhySuZriXHN/IMG-20180309-WA0014.jpg</center>
<p></p>

<div class="text-justify">My deer deer deer friend made my day wonderful today, and I helped her get away from studying and enjoy a fun break. That's she in the pictures, @marina-rogic, and she will be a great addition to our steemit family when she finishes all her exams and returns to writing amazing and quality posts.</div>
<p></p>

# KEEP YOUR SMILE ON
<div class="text-justify">I hope you play every day, alone or with others, outside or indoors, social, sports or puzzle games. Keep that smile on and have some fun, enjoy life and live it. Living life and watching it from a side are opposite things. </div>
<p></p>

<center><b>"When you are free, you can play and 
when you are playing, you become free."</b>
Heidi Kaduson</center>

<center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmcwiu6o4zCP1FuZCyWdPZ5HaZfupn5upjiYEVa2LZsQC5/IMG-20180309-WA0015.jpg</center>