Walking and Falling and Playing

A little over two years ago our family got together at my brother's place. My nephew was nearly one then and starting to walk. My brother has thick grass that he cuts high. My nephew was trying to walk in the yard. He would take a step in the thick grass and then fall. He would immediately get up and start walking again. He would take another step and then fall, but wasn't phased in the least and would get right up again. He had not concept of failure. He was just being as he knew to be. He hasn't been brainwashed into thinking he is a failure if he couldn't walk without falling. This is such a great lesson. Failure is a learning process, it is actually valuable. Not that we want to live recklessly, but going through life being imprisoned by the fear of failure stunts so many.
Then I saw this same nephew a few weeks ago at age three. He is now a reall ball of fire who loves to play. Children are born with the desire to play. So often though, well meaning parents get in the way of their children's innate desire to play. They even think that play is frivilous and a waste of time. They think children should start focusing on self improvement for their future lives. Just the opposite is the case, children so need authentic play to develop into mentally healthy adult.