Come Out and Play

Come Out and Play

Living Your Authentic Dharma

"It is better to do one's own duty, though imperfectly performed, than the duty of another performed well. Better is defeat in one's own duty, for to follow another's path is to invite difficulty."

— Bhagavad Gītā 3.35

The Courage to Be Imperfect

There is something radical in what Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna here. He doesn't say, "Perfect yourself and then act." He doesn't say, "Wait until you're ready." He says that stumbling forward on your own path is infinitely better than gracefully walking someone else's.

Your dharma—your authentic way of being—doesn't require perfection. It requires honesty. It requires the willingness to show up as you actually are, not as you think you should be. This teaching strikes at the heart of one of our deepest fears: What if who I really am isn't good enough?

The Weight of Expired Commitments

How many of us are living in positions, relationships, or commitments that expired long ago? We stay in jobs that no longer feed our souls. We maintain relationships that have become hollow. We honor obligations that once made sense but now only drain us. Why?

Because we're afraid. Afraid of disappointing others. Afraid of the unknown. Afraid of being judged as selfish or unstable or irresponsible. So we play it safe. We stay small. We continue performing duties that belong to someone else's vision of who we should be.

But Kṛṣṇa warns us: to follow another's path is to invite difficulty. Not just external difficulty, but the deep internal suffering that comes from living inauthentically. The soul knows when we are betraying it.

The Prison of the Comfort Zone

We speak of comfort zones as if they're safe harbors, but often they're just familiar prisons. Yes, we know these walls. Yes, we understand the rules. But are we truly alive within them?

Your dharma rarely lives in your comfort zone. It lives just beyond the edge of what you think you can do. It asks you to risk. To experiment. To potentially fail. This is why Kṛṣṇa says, "Better is defeat in one's own duty." Even failure on your authentic path is a victory compared to success on someone else's.

The Invitation to Play

Watch a child at play. There is no self-consciousness, no performance for others, no calculation about outcomes. There is only absorption, curiosity, fearless experimentation. The child doesn't ask, "Am I doing this right?" The child simply plays.

This is the spiritual life well lived—not grimly performed duty, but joyful engagement with what is authentically yours. Your dharma should feel less like an obligation and more like play. Not frivolous play, but the serious play of a soul expressing its unique nature.

What Authenticity Requires

Courage: To disappoint others. To be misunderstood. To stand alone if necessary.

Honesty: To admit when something has run its course. To recognize when you're performing someone else's script.

Creativity: To imagine new possibilities. To experiment without guarantees. To trust your inner guidance over external validation.

Curiosity: To approach life with fresh eyes. To ask, "What wants to emerge through me?" rather than "What should I be doing?"

An Invitation

So here is the invitation: Come out and play. Not someday when you're ready, not when you've figured it all out, but now. Imperfectly. Authentically. Courageously.

What commitment has expired? What position no longer fits? What relationship needs honest reassessment? Where are you playing it safe when your soul is asking you to risk?

Your dharma is waiting. It doesn't require perfection. It only requires you—the real you, showing up fully, ready to stumble forward on your own unique path.

Better to be yourself imperfectly

than someone else flawlessly.

This is the path of dharma.

∞