1. The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by 
the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. Carl Jung
2. We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. George Bernard Shaw
3. My childhood may be over, but that doesn’t mean playtime is. Ron Olson
4. It’s better to play than do nothing. Confucious
5. Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game. Voltaire
6. Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold. Joseph Chilton Pearce
7. A person’s maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play. Frederic Nietsche
8. Always jump in the puddles! Always skip alongside the flowers. The only fights worth fighting are the pillow and food varieties. Terri Guillemets
9. I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. Leo F. Buscaglia
10. Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there. Miles Davis
11. Play the game for more than you can afford to lose… only then will you learn the game. Winston Churchill
12. Whoever wants to understand much must play much. Gottfried Benn
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13. Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. Mark Twain
14. Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. C.S. Lewis
15. I want to giggle myself to sleep each night and jump on the fluffy, comforting pillows of faith. Terri Guillemets
16. Deep meaning lies often in childish play. Johann Friedrich von Schille
17. There are children playing in the streets who could solve some of my top problems in physics, because they have modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago. J. Robert Oppenheimer
18. The essence of childhood, of course, is play, which my friends and I did endlessly on streets that we reluctantly shared with traffic. Bill Cosby
19. When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all. Theodore Roosevelt
20. Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions. Mark Twain
21. You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you’re doing is work or play. Warren Beatty
22. If I get to pick what I want to do, then it’s play…if someone else tells me that I have to do it, then it’s work. Patricia Nourot
23. The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground. G. K. Chesterton
24. Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good. Lucia Capocchione
25. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father. Roger von Oech
26. Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play. Heraclitus
27. If you aren’t playing well, the game isn’t as much fun. When that happens I tell myself just to go out and play as I did when I was a kid. Thomas Watson, Sr.
28. You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. Plato
29. And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. Kahlil Gibran
30. Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars. Henry Van Dyke
31. Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. Mark Twain
32. Almost all creativity involves purposeful play. Abraham Maslow
33. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Proverb
34. You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else. Albert Einstein
35. Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity. Kay Redfield Jamison
36. The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct. Carl Jung
37. Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn. O. Fred Donaldson
38. Those who play rarely become brittle in the face of stress or lose the healing capacity for humor. Stuart Brown, MD
39. In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play. Friedrich Nietzsche
40. If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society. Jean Piaget
41. The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery. Erik H. Erikson
42. There is work that is work and there is play that is play; there is play that is work and work that is play. And in only one of these lies happiness. Gelett Burgess
43. It is a happy talent to know how to play. Ralph Waldo Emerson
44. When childhood dies, its corpses are called adults and they enter society, one of the politer names of hell. That is why we dread children, even if we love them, they show us the state of our decay. Brian Aldiss
45. A man is getting old when he walks around a puddle instead of through it. R.C. Ferguson
46. If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society. Jean Piaget
47. What we play is life. Louis Armstrong
48. Play, intrinsically rewarding, doesn’t cost anything; as soon as you put a price on it, it becomes, to some extent, not play. Stephen Nachmanovitch
49. Play provides a continuation desire. We desire to keep doing it, and the pleasure of the experience drives that desire. We find ways to keep it going. Stuart Brown
50. Play has been man’s most useful preoccupation. Frank Capra
Image credit: andresr / 123RF Stock Photo
Now it’s your turn. If you have any inspirational quotes that you want to share with us, we would love to see them.
Love these quotes Fran. We all need to play sometimes! This is my favourite quote you listed. “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. Plato” So true!
Carolyn….Not alot of Plato quotes show up when I’m looking for inspiration. But that one is a winner.
I would love to play with you ANYTIME you want.! 🙂 fran
Lovely. I am crazy about quote posts, Fran! This one is great.
13. Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. Mark Twain
= so true!
Thanks for a great read – one that I can return to, often.
By the way, I am loving your Twitter profile photos! They look fabulous.
Vidya….Aren’t quotes the best? For me, the thoughts of these individuals shed light on important subjects in an easy to read, profound manner.
Hmmm…I love the Mark Twain quote as well. Just between him and Albert Einstein, there are enough terrific quotes to last a lifetime.
Thanks for the compliment on my Twitter photo. I literally grabbed my daughter one day last week in the middle of a broiling afternoon and told her to take some shots of me in the garden. She was hemming and hawing about each one…finally, I said to her ‘just shoot, one after another without thinking too much’ and she did. So much for deliberating over everything. xxoo-Fran
Fran,
I love these! I can’t decide which is my favorite, but I’m going to copy some down if you don’t mind. I teach at a preschool with a play philosophy. Kids learn so much faster when they think they’re just playing. Plus, I need a little creative boost!
Thanks!!
PS After rereading, it’s the Piaget quote that I like the best, “If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society.” ( except for the deformed part 🙂 )
Betsy…..I’ve been a big fan of Piaget since I checked out Piaget pre-schools for my kids. I agree about the deformity phrase. But the truth is that if we could just surrender to being in control, how much more beautiful life would be. It certainly is something worth diligently working on. xxoo-Fran
You have the greatest quotes Fran. I’m going to print them off as a reminder to ‘play’ more when I get into my serious mode!
Elle
xoxo
Elle…Thanks. Obviously, I do love quotes. They are ‘feel good’ and a reminder about what really matters in life. xxoo-Fran
For so much of my life I didn’t know how to play. I was too self conscious, too insecure, too afraid. As I got older and more relaxed, play came so naturally. Now I love it!
Galen….I’m so glad to hear that you’ve made the choice to let it rip and play. Unfortunately by the time we’re adults, if we’re out of the playful mode, it takes a leap of faith, to let it rip and play. I always think about the plays we put on when we were kids….pure joy, rambunctiousness, and play. Playing is one of the great delights in life. Fran
Hi Fran,
I have to say a big thank you, to you for including so many amazing quotes on play! I’m smiling as I write this comment! 🙂
I know you were stimulating creativity in us through this post. It was extremely creative on your part to write such a post.
What amazing words that remind us of the importance of play. As I get older, I begin to see the truth in how all aspects of life, are essentially play.
I’m off to share these great quotes on my social networks…
Thank you for efforts in selecting them.
Hiten….Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a sweetheart. Well, I’m telling you now. I never finish reading a post from you without feeling your gratitude and kindness coming through the pages.
In our society, play has been highly underrated. It’s only in recent years that it is getting the focus it deserves. There are some really meaty books on it now. Am glad you enjoyed. Share the quotes wherever you want. With gratitude…Fran
Hi Fran,
No2 always gets me started…fantastic quotes, thankyou
be good to yourself
David
Thanks for stopping by David
Fran,
Wonderful quotes! I like #25 – Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.
Thanks for sharing!
Victor…That is a good one. Thanks for stopping by. Fran
Hi Fran,
Great list of quotes. This one speaks to me – 28. You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. Plato
As adults it is important to remember to put play into our life on a regular basis. I believe I read from Julie Cameron in The Artists’ Way, the value of taking solo field trips to boost creativity. It is a form of play to go out and see something new. Thanks for the great reminder.
Cathy….Great to have you back. I missed your voice. xxoo-Fran
It is great to find a place that inspires people to play.
I like a quote which is not there – ‘Learn if you want to grow but play if you want to learn’.
…………………and it is by me only – Shuba.
Shuba- What a beautiful quote – I’m going to borrow it from you (and give you credit of course). Am glad you found my site. Fran
Hey, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your website in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet
Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!
Other then that, fantastic blog!
Thanks Tanash – will check it out.