Is image really Everything?

O.K. So here I am at exercise #5 of our Learn 'n Play Odyssey. I chose an image of a squirrel http://www.flickr.com/photos/meskill/285293367/ for several reasons. There are many squirrels around my apartment, and watching them always lightens my mood, especially when they are running around playing with each other. That aspect of their behavior reminded me of the "Play" angle of our exercise. It is fun to take a minute now and then to play without worrying that everything is going to grind to a halt and fall apart, or that you are going to get in trouble for being unproductive. Having an atmosphere that encourages play can also be very healthy overall. It helps to alleviate stress, frustration, boredom, etc. That being said, however, there is another side to play that may not be so good. As I pondered the squirrel, I remembered that much of their time is spent searching for and storing food, as well as being alert for predators. These are important activities that have a direct impact on them surviving. If all they did was play, there would be problems. Winter would come and they would have accomplished nothing more than organizing their collection of nutty images on Flickr and blogging about tree branches. Then what would they do? Sure, other squirrels could marvel at all of their virtual acorn activity, and they themselves might feel connected to the greater global squirrel community, but would it help them to lead productive and useful lives and form genuine, face to face, inter squirrel relationships in their own neck of the woods? I'm not so sure. As we sit at our terminals, engrossed in all of the possibilities and potential of Internet 2.0, that same sense of balance between play and nut foraging that we see in squirrels can help us of the human species determine the level of healthy investment of our energy and time into the virtual world. All work and no play might make Jack a dull boy, but all play and no work isn't much better. And on that nut, I mean note, I will step down from my tree stump and get back to weeding. Oh, by the way, the "Scaredy Squirrel" books by Melanie Watt...highly recommended!