Big toys
Big toys are a metaphor. They can’t be played with, but they say those joyful, “childlike” games go on. They are not a monument to the gone, they are a dialogue with a living entity. They address the inner child who lives in all of us, who is neglected, deprived of attention, of little joys and harmless fun.
Childhood is not an age thing; it is a state of mind. Yes, it is carefree, it is openness to the world, it is wonder, thirst for knowledge, it is the absence of negative experiences, it is open-mindedness, it is purity and, paradoxically, wisdom. Many people manage to keep these qualities and feelings all their lives, but even those who lost them, can find them again, remembering and realizing themselves at the threshold of life, figuring out in themselves what is really important and what is not. And everyone will understand that what deprives us of the feeling of childhood is not capable of bringing us real joy and peace. It is that which clouds life and brings only anxiety. And only that which brings us back to that luminous state is truly the most precious thing.
Play. In our adult consciousness there has been a substitution of this concept. Game is called something that does not correspond to the meaning of the word. From harmless fun, as a way to communicate and communicate, to exchange positive emotions, it has turned into a competition. We play games of survival. The stakes are rising. It’s nothing personal. Games are becoming hyper-serious, games with a price on life. Fighting without rules or by the rules is equally inhumane. We call it a game, but we know full well that it is no longer a game, but a big sport.
The project “Big Toys for Big Game” is about how to learn to play again in a fun, childish, pretend way, without changing inside and without experiencing negativity and aggression. Big play, is not defined by means, but by purpose. We form a new way of playing, not for the sake of personal victory, but for the sake of shared joy. The word game does not refer to childhood, somewhere in the past, but declares a new psychology and a new reality, where the past, present and future of each individual person are woven into a unified and unbreakable matter and everything is present simultaneously and equally meaningful. Nothing is irrevocably gone and nothing comes out of nowhere, everything lives in us, something on the surface and something deep inside. The big game is a call to be more honest, open and simple with ourselves and others.
Our world is safe, joyful, abundant and benevolent, and if it is not, then we have made it so, and so we ourselves have the power to change it.
The point of the game is to make our world a little more comfortable and kinder, to reduce tension and overrated importance, to bring back a sense of serenity, joy and childhood. And it’s not a fantasy, it’s just another way of looking at the world around us and at ourselves.