When I looked through my pet blogging calendar and noticed that today is Play God Day, I will admit that at first I was a bit taken aback. "Play God Day?" I was bothered because I started to think "who am I to think that I would have the audacity to behave as if I were God?" I couldn't have been more wrong.
From Days of The Year:
Play God Day seeks to get past those self-centered
tendencies and calls us to extend out beyond the confines of our own desires
and encourage or touch another person’s day. If you were god how would you
change the world? If you had the place of the higher being you could set right
all the wrongs you see in the world and that is the theme and purpose for this
day.
History of Play God Day
Humans have always imagined what they might do if they were in the place of god and even those not given to such beliefs will often speak in terms of what they think a god ought to do. Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs were considered gods and would act as such and many other ancient texts reference men seeking to become gods or to take the place of a god.
In recent culture films such as Bruce Almighty explore
the idea of what it means to play god and what those powers should entail. The
discussion of “playing god” has become more prominent even as technology
advances and humans delve into new areas of biology and other fields.
Celebrating Play God Day
The purpose of Play God Day is to perform some kind act for another person, or just generally contribute to the well-being of the world as a whole. There are many ways to go about this, if you’re so inclined.
Reaching out to help or encourage a co-worker or family
member is an excellent way to start observing the day. Instead of rushing past the car stranded on the side
of the road you might stop and offer assistance, even if it’s just a phone call
to a local gas station or towing service.
Ask yourself, “If I were god, what would I change about
the current state of affairs?” and then see how many of those things you’re
already capable of contributing to in your situation at home or at work. You
might be surprised at the various ways in which a simple change might bring
about the effect you want.