What is leisure? More than you think!
Leisure is an ever broadening and dynamic arena for those who have graduated from their full time work role. Leisure is a manifestation of our inner selves – part of our own personality.
All leisure is not created equal and one person’s leisure may be another person’s work.
There are six kinds of leisure activities, which I have listed for you below. I have also included a few examples of each type of leisure activity to give you an idea of what each one is about.
- Social (friends, parties, gatherings, bridge, travel)
- Spectator (sport, television, movies, theatre)
- Creative (writing, art, music, journals, quilting)
- Intellectual (reading, studying, lectures, discussions, debates)
- Physical (walking, tennis, golf, hiking, travel, Pilates)
- Solitary (quiet time, walks, retreats
Leisure is a human need. When we have no leisure, we risk a gradual erosion of our human spirit.
We can relieve stress through leisure activities, BUT we can also feel stressed if we live a lifestyle that is under-loaded.
Leisure reminds us that our sole purpose in life is not simply to DO but to BE. As we transform ourselves away from work (very often the chief definer of our life) we can come to see our leisure interests and pursuits as part of our life journey. In this sense, leisure helps build in us a sense of wholeness, because we grow to realize that our inner nature is the cohesive and binding force in our lives, that force which gives integrity to our world and balance to our lives.
Internal leisure allows us to re-discover our childlike qualities of awe, wonder and delight.
