Let me start by saying that I don’t “do” video games. My 13-year-old can quote you chapter and verse about every old school system ever cranked out by Nintendo, Sega or Atari. Me? Not so much. Just put a game controller in my hand to witness the hilarity. That whole eye-hand coordination business? Highly overrated as far as I can tell. That’s why it was so stunning to me that I would become hopelessly addicted to Boomshine. Its premise couldn’t be simpler. You click on the bubbles in order to create a chain reaction. Each level you need to clear a specified number of bubbles. That’s pretty much it. The bubbles are colorful and floaty; the music relaxing. (My son derisively refers to it as a “casual” game.) So, what did I learn after hours online?

That sometimes, in Boomshine, as in life, you need to wait. Clicking madly without a strategy will get you nowhere. Watch and wait, and when the time is right, you’ll know it. That’s when the magic happens.

That making connections is really what it’s all about. Whether those links are personal or professional, chain reactions are immensely rewarding. (As the 1970s  Faberge Organic Shampoo TV commercial intones: “you’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends, and so on, and so on…”)

Creativity can come from the most unexpected sources. Sometimes when you step away from the work, and give yourself permission to play, you may be surprised at what it triggers.

*With apologies to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee