PLAY AND WALK-PART I. NO TO COMPETITION, YES TO FUN.

We can always combine walking with the game. Let’s see how.

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First of all I would like to say a few words about the importance of playing for the human being. We should not consider that any type of game implies competing. There will be opinions that say that not all games have to be developed as a competition; others will present cases of primitive groups -and that still exist today- that played games without competing; and others, using some kittens or puppies as an example, arguing that they only seek to “have fun” while playing. Expressing it in this way has the purpose of raising awareness while playing, which can lead to conscious or unconscious competition. In this practice of playing when walking with the other structured activities of reading, writing and drawing, we should avoid competing as much as possible. When I point out that the game is competitive, I do not mean that it officially specifies that there is a challenge between 2 or more individuals (or 2 groups or more), although a high percentage of the games are carried out under this confrontation rule.

One form of competition that we can carry out, without creating harmful effects of the emotional type in our interior, is with ourselves, but it is not very healthy either; however, this could be a way to avoid competing with the rest of the entities and people that make up the physical-social environment in which we are immersed. Thus, the only competition that we can successfully overcome throughout life is with the same competence, in order to overcome it and not follow its steps, its teachings, or its subconscious instructions.

The dance, which for some means to play and for others not -I do not wish to argue in it-, I have selected it and I put it as an example because everyone has experienced it and there is no doubt of its components; can be practiced 1) under a competition; 2) as a show, or 3) just for the fun of it. In cases of the second type, it can be considered that there is no express competition, since there is no official event, however, the performer must make their best effort so that the public appreciates and qualifies properly and gives their approval; otherwise they may not retain their position as dancers in that work; in conclusion, they compete to keep the position of dancer. In the third case, the possibility may arise that each dancer who participates solely for fun, competes with himself.

How could it be shown that the game itself, and in general, possibly means a competition for the player? Think of those games in which no rivalry, dispute or combat is stipulated within its rules, nor is it officially declared as competition, nor is there a jury that will give its opinion or ruling. We could think, for example, of the “solitaire” game, which is played with cards and is done exclusively individually. The player who successfully solves this game is satisfied and in certain cases, this can reach his joy with euphoria; that is to say, that it feels to have won with pride, and this would correspond to an analogy of triumphing in a competition, which in this case rivals (it is a competition) with itself. You may agree with this or not, no matter what; the relevant thing is that we realize that there is always the possibility that in games, including individual, there is a risk of being competing in an unconscious way, which can lead to harmful stress. Performing a game individually involves several phases in human behavior. That some recreational activity is pleasant, acceptable, approved, of course by ourselves, falls into the line of having dominated the game, which in turn means having won in that playful experience. This means that we are superior to ourselves. This initiative to dominate the game responds to a need to be superior and to achieve this I must put myself to the test, to the extent that I demonstrate my abilities to win over others. So far we only want to win, but that is not the most important thing in a game, the important thing is to be number one, the one who triumphs over others and therefore attains power. Finally, any game could be an example of this development of the human being that seeks, not to have fun, but to obtain triumph and fame, in order to dominate and have power over the rest of the people.

The dominate-win-compete play trinomial reflects the fundamental elements of a high percentage of game types. Within our WALK-RWD system, we will propose -in future posts- various special games to have fun while we walk, which will be combined with the development of some of the structured activities within the WALK-RWD system (read, write and draw). They will be simple, but fun games, and they all intrinsically seek to develop any of those 3 activities. Although my philosophy of behavior is that of not competing -and thus I have designed the structure of these games that I will expose-, the mind of the human being is conditioned and exercised to find mechanisms of competition for the achievement of dissimilar objectives, in the vast majority of the “games”, even if they do not manifest it openly. So each practitioner of the system will have to strive to ignore any hint of competition that he perceives in the respective games. I repeat: In the games I have designed, the competition will not be sought, nor will the competition be sustainable; only fun, entertainment, and specific objectives achieved through the WALK-RWD system will be sought.

I would like to comment something about kittens and puppies, or another type of puppy of any kind. They truly play without competing … until a certain age. Could it be that when they begin to grow they begin a conditioning of competence to achieve their food, their survival, the conservation and proliferation of the species? In other words, only the games of children (very small) and those of puppies, in general, do not manifest themselves in competition? So let’s make an abstraction of our conditioning. Can we achieve this? Hardly; but possibly, by becoming aware of it, let’s reduce it.

Let’s play alone. This is possible, and this will ensure, in part, non-competition. However, it does not mean that to get rid of competing, we have to live alone. What we have to achieve is to assimilate (introject) that the competition contains 2 main vectors, true and unfailing; one is that the energy that we store (Vector A) during that daily and unbeatable competition that we sustain and suffer, consciously or unconsciously, with the rest of the people and circumstances that we experience by the limits that we impose ourselves, we projects in a direction of progress, on a personal level and as an integral part of that great mass -collected- of the human race, progress that is mentioned, and not sparingly, that it is an erratic, unhealthy course; and the other vector (Vector B) that contains different magnitude, but above all different direction and meaning, orients us towards a gorge where we inevitably find stress, anxiety, contempt, pride, envy, greed, jealousy, rivalry, resentment, ambition, falsehood, disloyalty, meanness, and a dozen other mood discomforts that avoid tranquility, the pleasure of living, fun and sometimes immolate ourselves same.

The “patent” competition in the game does not mean that there is a contest declared and established by rules and regulations, or that a jury will issue its ruling to designate one of the disputing players as winner. The competition exists without these regulatory elements, without the award procedure, and without the manifest selection of a winner. All these principles and elements, even if they are not declared openly in certain games, exist in the mind of each individual, by conditioning, at the moment that is involved in any game. For these conditions the human being, in most of the times and in most of the people, is forced to develop extraordinary risks, expose his best skills and abilities, perform excellent calculations, undertake any activity with his best value and courage , do your best, give your best, as if you were in an open and manifest competition.

Let us, then, in our unconditioned form, our own effort to walk and carry out those activities -including simple games- that entertain and excite us, and do not get carried away by playful competition.

Post PART II. THE GAME AND THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM. NO TO COMPETITION, YES TO FUN

Traducido al Español

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