20 Inspiring Quotes About Play From Creative Minds
How often do you make time for play in your creative life? We often grow out of this habit as adults, but more and more studies are showing just how important it is for people to maintain habits of play not just for creativity but for well-being. To inspire more creativity in your life, here 20 inspiring quotes about play from creative minds.
Play is a natural part of growing up. It helps us develop social skills, discover the world around us, and is often our first attempt at creativity. As we get older, focus on play decreases and can even be looked down upon in adulthood. This is unfortunate, science hasn’t only found the importance of play in childhood and adulthood, but it is also a crucial part of the creative process.
“It’s better to play than do nothing.”
― Confucius
Chinese philosopher
“Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning.”
― Diane Ackerman
Contemporary American author
“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”
― Mark Twain
Writer
“Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.”
―
American novelist
“Do not…keep children to their studies by compulsion but by play.”
― Plato
Athenian philosopher
“Play matters because people matter. It reminds us of our interdependence and gives us a chance to really see other people. And in turn, to be really and truly seen.”
― Jill Vialet
Founder of Playworks
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”
― Carl Jung
Swiss psychoanalyst
“Playing a game together actually builds up bonds and trust and cooperation. We actually build stronger social relationships as a result.”
― Jane McGonigal
Game designer
“A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who does not play has lost forever the child who lived in him.”
― Pablo Neruda
Chilean poet
“Play is the mediator of the invisible and visible.”
― Dora M. Kalff
Jungian Therapist
“We shouldn’t stick too close to everyday reality but give room to the reality of the heart, of the mind, and of the imagination. Those things can help us in life.”
― Hayao Miyazaki
Filmmaker
“Almost all creativity involves purposeful play.”
― Abraham Maslow
American psychologist
“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
―
Writer, Philosopher
“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.”
― Kay Redfield Jamison
Clinical psychologist
“The true object of all human life is play.”
― G. K. Chesterton
British author
“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.”
―
Actor
“Combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought.”
―
Theoretical physicist
“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.”
― Heraclitus
Greek philosopher
“It is a happy talent to know how to play.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Poet
“A person’s maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play.”
― Frederic Nietsche
Philosopher
Zach is an international writer, photographer, filmmaker, martial artist, and creator of Creative Enso, the Zen art of creative living. His goal is to empower and inspire creatives to live healthier, happier, and more creative lifestyles.
