Playfulness and Understanding - a start

Since my last post (where things were appearing to crystalise for me), I developed and then shook off a seemingly unshakable flu. As I was recovering I discovered my mother was seriously ill and so here I am in Tasmania again; spending time with her and my family - some of whom have also travelled from overseas. These events have filled my time - though freedom and playfulness have not been very far from my thoughts. Events have sharpened and developed what I thought was understanding. Now I am ready again to continue my inquiry with the help of Heidegger.

State-of-mind is one of the existential structures in which being of the 'there' maintains itself. Equiprimordial with it in constituting this Being is understanding. A state-of-mind always has its understanding, even if it merely keeps it suppressed. (p. 182)

Playfulness as a state-of-mind has its understanding. Building further on a previous post: playfulness can inform and replenish Dasein by being a conduit for greater awareness of authentic being or it may allow further falling to the they. Each of these has its own apparent understanding.

In every case Dasein, as essentially having a state-of-mind, has already got itself in definite possibilities... ...Dasein is the possibility of Being-free for its ownmost potentiality-for-being. Its Being-possible is transparent to itself in different possible ways and degrees. Understanding is the Being of such potentiality-for-Being, which is never something still outstanding as not yet present-at-hand, but which is essentially never present-at-hand, 'is' with the Being of Dasein, in the sense of existence. (pp 183-4)

Understanding is the existential Being of Dasein's own potentiality-for-being; and it is so in such a way that this being discloses in itself what being is capable of. (p. 184)

A direct link to freedom. Playfulness as a state-of-mind of Dasein just exists and is not a definite precursor for disclosure of authentic Being. Playfulness as a state-of-mind could be how we manifest our potentiality-for-Being and disclose our possibilities. Could this be a sense of freedom?

...when that which is within-the-world is itself freed, this entity is freed for its own possibilities. (p. 184)

This sounds a little like play.

Dasein always has understood itself in terms of possibilities... ...understanding is the kind of Being of Dasein in which it is its possibilities as possibilities. (p. 185)

This sounds quite like playfulness. Hmmm... I would like to reflect further on playfulness and possibilities in association with understanding as described above - which is reminiscent of freedom. Considering freedom and understanding in this way 'freedom to learn' becomes even more intriguing for me - especially learning thought of in terms of understanding.

I will leave this post with a passage to ponder upon - freedom, playfulness, possibilities, understanding - and:

As existentialia, states-of-mind and understanding characterise the primordial disclosedness of Being-in-the-world. By way of having a mood, Dasein 'sees' possibilities, in terms of which it is. In the projective disclosure of such possibilities, it already has a mood in every case. (p. 188)

Could playfulness, as a state-of-mind, have freedom as its understanding?