I had a lot of fun yesterday and last night. It was so much fun, I
wonder why I don’t have this kind of fun all the time. I am
distinguishing between happy and fun here. I am happy most of the time
and enjoy what I am doing, but fun is somehow different. The day was
spent playing golf with my buddies and then we all went to an Italian
cooking school and spent the evening laughing and eating an incredible
dinner.  

But
what we did isn’t the source of ‘why’ it was fun. I’ve played golf and
had great dinners lots of times and while they are enjoyable days, they
aren’t—well, as much fun. I think that having fun is a skill or a mood
or maybe an attitude. It isn’t a function of the circumstances, it is
something we bring to the circumstances. I know some people that always
have fun wherever they are. I know a few who seemingly never have fun.

I
mention this because as I observe older people (at least in North
America), I don’t see a lot of laughter or much evidence that people in
their 60s, 70s and 80s are having much fun. It could be that we’re just
more reserved in expressing it, although I am more inclined to think
we’ve lost touch with ‘how’ to have fun.

I don’t think that
having fun is the point to life. There are lots of times and situations
when having fun would be inappropriate. What I want to point out is
that having fun is a choice—and that we can be conscious about it.
Someone once defined enlightenment as ‘lightening up’ or “being less
significant”, which is pretty close to the same thing as having more
fun. Yesterday, I realized I had drifted into being unconscious in this
aspect of life and didn’t know it was missing.

My thoughts on how to recover this capability include:

1. Reconnecting
   consistently with my body’s needs for diet, exercise and sleep
   (recognizing that if ‘fun’ is a mood, then it is biological and I need
   to ‘get in shape’).
2. Checking in with my experience more frequently—for the next few weeks do a ‘fun audit’ to notice whether I am having fun or not.
3. Recognizing whether others I am with are having at least as much fun as I am.
4. Relaxing
   more and hanging out with more friends (since having fun, being relaxed
   and being with friends seem to be somehow related)
5. Being committed to having fun before something happens.
6. Not taking life so seriously.

I’d
love to hear from you if you have other ‘tips’ on having fun…and feel
free to share what you do that is fun by leaving a comment.