Do I Have the Right to Have Fun?

Sounds like a stupid question, doesn’t it?  I sort of feel stupid for asking it.

What is “fun”, anyway?  I suppose there’s an element of subjectivity to however it’s defined, but I think one common characteristic upon which most people would agree is that fun is as much a feeling as it is a cognitive sensation.  When I say “feeling”, I mean like an emotion.  So, fun is a sensation…a tingling of the physical form…and an emotion…a tingling of the spiritual form.  Fun, then, is something you experience with your entire being, with physical and spiritual parts, in unison.

So, do I have the right to have fun?  Sure.  Of course I do.  We all do.  How often?  That’s largely a matter of choice!  

Now, here’s an even better question: do I have the right to have fun at work?  Better still, do I have the right to expect to have fun at work?  Surely, I don’t.  There can be fun moments, but the idea of ALL of work being fun is simply juvenile.  At some point, we have to grow up and recognize that work is about performing for your employer so that you can earn your wage.  Your wage, in turn, fuels the rest of your existence.  On your time, you have fun.  On company time, you produce.

The only problem is that I want to have fun at work.  I don’t want to experience an occasional fun moment.  I want to experience that physical and spiritual tingle every day when I sit down to get crackin’ at the whole work thing.  I want the work itself to be thrilling.  I want my day to whoosh by in a flow-induced blur.  I want there to be so much fun involved that I laugh as I retire for the day, recalling all the damn fun that I had.  

Stupid, I know.  Immature, I know.  Unrealistic, I know.  That’s me: stupid, immature, and unrealistic.  And I aim to stay that way.  I reserve the right to remain idealistic and hopeful.

You bet your ass I have the right to have fun, at work and outside of work.  That’s my plan, and I’m sticking to it.  Do you know what?  You can, too.