What is work? There’s a Pandora’s box if I ever heard one. We can tell by all the bitter frowns, tears, cursing, slumped shoulder’s, curt statements, sulking, pouting, exhibitions of contempt, snarling, coarse words, distress, glum looks, spasms, cramps, and other manifestations of repugnance, that we are all well aware of the answer.

It’s a job...and that indicates toil, drudgery, a grind, labor, plodding, elbow grease, exertion, strain, struggle, pain, putting our back into it, tugging, sweat, tears, slavery, working our finger’s to the bone, strife, cramps exhaustion, nose to the grindstone, jaded, taxing, tiredness and miserable – care to read any more dog dung?

I hope not! If it looks like work, acts like work, performs like work, sounds like work, and we say and think it’s work, then we need to rush to the nearest bookstore, and purchase a brand new, up-to-date dictionary and thesaurus, and modify, innovate, diversify, and reform our vocabulary – because we have no idea of what we have been missing.

Every revolutionized, biological, conglomeration of protoplasmic gunk (us) actually labor very intensely at figuring out how we can complicate our lives – by convincing our happy selves that we must go to work ...and we appear to be extremely successful about it! Know what I think of work? It stinks!

So, one gorgeous, sun-shiny day, I towed my happy self in my moving machine (vehicle) back out to the country, embedded myself in the center of a forest, and tried to identify "work’. Just exactly what do we do at "work"? We, theoretically, think, use our memory, interact with others, read, write, sweat, sometimes swear, converse, scheme, ponder, drive to and from, plan, clean up, direct, get directed, get gutsy, hear, win some, lose some, inspire, get inspired, object, obey, touch, ogle, have pains and aches, smell, speak, listen. promote, solve, act, re-act, walk, run, flirt, get slapped, gossip, guzzle, ingest something (as long as it isn’t moving), sit, stand, use the privy, cry, laugh, and ---at this point, all those creepy things in my logical processes got all upset, interrupted me, and tossed a radical, probing, and weighty inquiry to the forefront of my awareness-"Isn’t all that what we do when we play?"

Well, they really ticked me off with that question! There I was, in my haven of solitude, knowing I would unearth the answer to a distressing problem in mankind’s lives, and the little suckers had to go and simplify it! Just as I was calming down from being out-flanked, the arrogant jerks heaved another one at me. "Why not turn on the computer in my head, and transfer the word "work" from under "negative connotations", and place it under the heading "play" – because you humans have been laboring under that unfortunate and mistaken mis-conception all your lives? That did it! I couldn’t think for an hour because of their insolence, so I took a nap.

Finally swallowing my pride, I had to admit the __________________(you fill in the blank) were correct. Face it; we "work" come home, and jog, bicycle, play ball, go to the gym, mow the lawn, work on our vehicle, cook dinner, play video games, watch TV, read, talk, etc.- isn’t it all work, or "play? What’s the difference? One would imagine the only distinction is we get paid to "work".

Why not get paid to "play"? And then come home, and play some more? When our non-entities (debts) drag us out of bed to go to "work", we have already set our minds up for a bad day, even before we leave our cradle. Why do we do that? We re-act the same way with the word "school" – heck, its fun to learn! An even more crucial and serious question may be "why do we maintain our belief "work" is "work"? Don’t we have free will?

This is America – we can believe "work" and "school" are fun if we wish!

Following a few more hours of slipping on leaves, running into trees, watching our for spider webs, and anything else that would like to list me on their menu, those creepy things in my head had to smack my consciousness with another homespun question, and flush my ego into a hole.

Isn’t that what you’re "working" for – to improve your life and find some happiness?

Once again; being outwitted, and conceding they nailed me once again, I just sat down and pouted...I was endeavoring to be impressive, and complicate my life, instead of realizing the replies to 95% of all dismal questions we encounter, are usually uncomplex. What an excellent theory – to be happier, all we have to do is alter our optic orbs (eyeballs) to perceive our lives in a whole new way, procure a dictionary and thesaurus, indoctrinate those creepy things (neurons) in our cerebellum with a new vocabulary, and Presto!

A crisp, young, and fresh span of life yawns beckoning us into its sphere of optimism, faith, enthusiasm and aspiration. Once entered, a whole new dimension of vitality and happiness pulsates and streams before us ...and the benefits are forever!

We bounce from our straw hut looking forward to a wonderful day, we smile and tell our young one’s we love them, arrive at "play" glowing with cheerfulness, see our "co-players" in a different light, relaxed, confident, other’s pettiness no longer affects our good attitude, "play" more efficiently and effectively, less stress, our creepy things get their "joy jolts", inspiration to others, our physical selves function smoothly, think sharper with higher assurance of success, more patience, more zeal, radiant, thrilling, have fun, little or no fatigue, healthier habits, immune systems more effective, likable, interesting, desirability, more concentration, and _______________(you fill in the blank space).

Whew! Had to take a break, and get more de-caf coffee! We desire to hug our mate and children, communicate more openly and freely, have the patience to talk with them and not "at them", listen to them, play games with them, help with their problems and ambitions, calmly explain why, learn from them, remember children don’t know what we know, they begin listening to us, little things don’t upset us, we praise our children more --- overall; we become more loving, lovable, electric, vigorous, potent, encouraging, and a good human being...imagine that!

Imagine; by just increasing our vocabulary, and altering how we perceive "play" and other assimilations of air sucking, blood flowing, skin stretching, cell producing, muscle flexing, and digesting physical structures (other humans), we could potentially resolve lots of problems in our lives. Maybe we should give it a shot for a couple of months, just to see for ourselves! It may open our eyes and minds to a whole new world of happiness.

What do you think?