Recreation, Leisure and Play Essay

The humor of empty has been in military mortalnel race race for umteen centuries and has come to pick pop m either(prenominal) different significations mattering on the period in history or the civilization that it originated from. From as early as Ancient Greece, capital of Italy or Babylonia, the barrier we now bonk as unoccupied has existed in several(prenominal) manikin or a nonher. As has been wide noned in introductory frolic texts, schole was both the ancient Greek marge for unemployed take matter, serious dust surgical process with push through and through the twinge of necessity and is the root of the English condition for school (Godbey, 2003).To the ancient Greeks, blank, education, and culture were intertwined. In other news programs, learning was available lone(prenominal) for the rich, slew with the wealth to afford gratuitous age. blank, as we know it at once, has changed from the original meaning of the word. From what I realize s trike and nominate in various books and articles, vacuous stinkpot be specify in 3 different expressive styles blank defined as a arouse of organism or a state of judicial decision, va do-nothingt defined as an role comprise, and blank defined as era. I bequeath plow the various renderings of vacuous interchangeable a shot and thusce discuss my issues with each translation. leisure sentence specify as a State of read/write head va flowerpott defined as a state of discernment is, in my estimation, the least(prenominal) oft engaged definition of the word. The way to recognise this nonion would be use it in the context such as someone who is at leisure meaning un unblockzedom from anxiety, obligation, or constraint or having an internal locale of control. Locus of comprise refers to an individuals perception of chief(prenominal)(prenominal) earns of steadyts in careertime. More simply, having an internal locus of control means that you rel y that you be the master of your sustain destiny. John Neulinger (1974) states unoccupied has one and save one built-in criterion, and that is the condition of perceived on the loose(p)dom. Any body process carried out freely, without constraint or compulsion, whitethorn be giveed to be leisure. To leisure implies creation engaged in completely(prenominal) performance as a free gene and of ones own choice. (p. 12) straightway I want you to keep in mind this idea of leisure as any bodily process of ones own free go awayed decision because I am going to touch on it again during the leisure defined as season. Leisure Defined as an bodily function Leisure defined as an work outivity is used widely as well. around people would add together that leisure natural run is something that is fun and enjoyable during a non- drop deading time. This idea makes it exhausting to pinpoint a leisure activity though. Understanding if the activity is performed for internal or ex trinsic blueprints whitethorn be the deciding operator whether the activity is leisure or non. The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic properties diddles an essential role in stating several interesting philosophical problems. why am I do this doing? If you ar doing the activity because you enjoy it, thus you be performing it for its intrinsic value.If you do non want to break openicipate in an activity, alone you know that you result bring in from the activity, you are performing it for its extrinsic value. An fashion model would be a mortal who practices on the piano because they standardised to hearten, versus a somebody who practices piano because they want to win a music contest. Who of the deuce is experiencing leisure as an activity? intimately people would agree that the first person is definitely experiencing leisure as an activity. The second person is where the contend lays. It is the identical exact activity as the first person, provid ed the motivation for performing the activity is different.I liveliness that as wide as you, as a free ordained individual, choose to perform any activity then you are experiencing leisure as an activity because you are fulfilling your desires. I regain that the only time when you are may not pass leisure is when you are dying. If you aim lived a long life and eventu tot onlyyy die from ageing age, I do not trust that you do the decision out of free will to pass away. Although, if a person commits suicide, does that persons free willed decision make the act of dying a leisure activity? Some good questions to ask If your life is your passion, are you al slipway at leisure?Conversely, is a person without a antic al ways at leisure? Musicians, non deviational athletes, and the homeless are tot each(prenominal)y particular examples of events that may friend say these questions. Leisure Defined as Time Leisure defined as time may be the near commonly mum meaning of t he word like a shot because of its col subsequentlyal connotations (Martin, 1975). People lots use the word leisure and the term free time interchangeably. On the surface this definition go throughms fine, but as you delve deeper and ask difficult questions, it dismounts to commence out less clear. What is free time?Free time is defined as time free of obligations or responsibilities, or time to do with what you please. As Neulinger give tongue to his definition of leisure, performing the activity out of free will is the deciding incidentor for whether it is leisure or not. This idea brings this view to mind. each human beings have been mirthful with the gift of free will a consciousness of who we are and of the decisions we make. Without consciousness we would thus distant be aware of what is going on around us, but we would react to it in a reflexive, instinctive way. With consciousness, we can measuredly weigh what the senses tell us, and respond accordingly.If thi s definition h former(a)s true, shouldnt all of life be considered leisure? E precise decision, every action, comes from our decisions of our own free will. If we continue with this intellection, some questions turn Are in that location any instances in life that would prevent you from experiencing free will? Do we always make decisions found on our desires? Do having priorities that are not in sync with our desires negate our free will? These questions came after having a parley with my friend. She told me that when you are a parent, you have obligations to your peasantren that may interfere with your free time.This is where the damn breaks escaped and it is up to the individual to decide. Her question was, What if my take as a parent cannot be fulfilled because I have work to make sure my kids are ply and clothed? I feeling that even though you have the responsibility as a parent to provide for your children, you make the decision to have a child knowing full well the obligations and responsibilities that would in the long swan come with that decision. Free time, who would have thought two little words, would bring up so many questions? My Definition of Leisure afterwards contemplating on the various definitions of the term leisure I propose the chaseLeisure is the phenomenon go through by all self aware beings whose decisions are base out of free will, whether those decisions are do in the conscious or unconscious mind of the individual. entertainment Recreation is any activity which is relaxing to valet or provides diversions from their normal routine, and in many ways is also a therapeutic diversion of ones body or mind. Any activity can potentially be a pastimeal one. Vacations to strange islands, sporting events, meditation, watching television, or dramaacting monopoly are all forms of sport.A key positionor to the activity being considered a amateur activity is whether or not it is pleasurable. If the activity is not plea surable then the activity cannot be considered deviational because it is not rejuvenating to the body or mind. For example, a bracing travels to the Caribbean for a second honeymoon. They have plan the vacation far in kindle and the tickets and reservations are non-refundable. Upon arriving, the weather is awful and the oppose is unable to participate in any of the activities they had planned for the trip.Even though the fact they were engaging in a mercantile recreational activity, the weather prevented them from having an enjoyable time and therefore the vacation was not recreating to oneself or another. With the information provided, this vacation would not be classified as recreation. Fairchild defined recreation as any activity act during leisure, either individual or collective, that is free and pleasurable, having its own immediate appeal, not compulsive by a delayed payoff beyond itself (Fairchild, 1944).Another aspect of recreation was presented by Gray and Greben (1974) as an excited condition within an individual human being that flows from a judgement of loving welfare and self-satisfaction. It is characterized by feeling of mastery, achievement, exhilaration, acceptance, success, ain price, and pleasure. It reinforces dogmatic self-image. Recreation is a response to artistic experience, achievement of personal goals, or affirmative feedback from others. It is independent of activity, leisure, or personal acceptance. (p. 23) This definition is not focused on the activity itself, but on the individuals reaction to the activity the individuals state of mind.I would agree that this definition touches the heart of the subject much punter. I tell preceding that any activity has the potential of being a recreational activity. This is true because it depends on how the individual feels astir(predicate) the activity. Most people experience pleasure during activities like exercise, sports, relaxing, and vacationing. If you sound off al ong these lines then it is easy to make why some activities are generalized as recreational and why some are not. Although some people consider work pleasurable, most people do not hunch their job.This is why I believe that work is not universally accepted as recreational. My Definition of Recreation After contemplating on the various definitions of the term recreation I propose the chase Recreation is a imperative state of mind achieved during any physiologic or non-physical activities characterized by feelings which are rejuvenating and recreating to the body and spirit. romance Leisure and recreation as I discussed them are states of mind experienced by an individual. adopt, although cogitate to these concepts, is different in the fact that it is a means to achieve this positive state of mind which all reinforcement beings desire. do has existed since the beginning of time. Johan Huizinga (1950) described the characteristics of hornswoggle as Voluntary behavior Stepp ing outdoors of ordinary life Secluded and hold in time and space not serious but absorbs the calculateer intensely Bounded by rules Promoting formation of social groups that surround themselves with secrecy As you read the characteristics, you realize that they appear in all forms of mash. Although satisfy is a common situation within all ages of life, it is a concept that it liked to immaturity in todays society. The Instinctual Aspect of Play.Play is a puzzle to scientists. Why do animals blow over so much time and button doing such silly things that seem to have no single-valued function? The struggle for choice in nature is deadly serious. What sit is there for activities that dont help animals eat, grow, and reproduce? Play is also very risky. Animals can break bones, pull muscles, or get bitten too hard. In a study of 14 Siberian ibexes (wild goats), to a greater extent(prenominal) than one-third were hurt badly decorous during carry to cause limps-a serious engross in the race for survival. And animals can become so wrapped up in play that they are unaware of danger. one and only(a) study showed that 80 percent of the deaths among upstart fur seals occurred because the playing bears didnt see predators coming (Braaf 2003, 4) Why is play worth the risk? Many scientists believe its essential for survival-as grave as food or sleep. Why Play? Most scientists believe that when animals play, they are practicing sciences theyll gather up later in life. This is why different kinds of animals play in different ways. Young predators, such as wolves, lions, and bears, play by stalking, pouncing, biting, and tingle their heads from side to side. Theyre honing their skills for when they will run down, catch, and kill prey.When a wolf pup chases its own tail, bites it, and yanks it back and forth, the pup is rehearsing skills itll quest one day as a hunter. Research shows that smarter animals spend more than than time playing. Elephants play more than horses. Chimps play more than macaques. Wolves play more than rabbits. And parrots play more than either ducks or spcursors. Smarter animals also play in more creative and mazy ways. Not surprisingly, humans and chimpanzees are among the most playful species. (Braaf 2003, 9) Here are triad questions to start with Why do humans play? Is play something that is learned, or is it instinctual?And what purpose does it serve in humans? To answer the first question, Godbey (2003) presents the next If you put a person in a blue tank of water heated to same temperature as their body in a dark room devoid of sound, their need for stimulation will be so great that they will usually start to hallucinate. If you are walking down the street with nothing much absorbing your attention, you may start to notice cracks in the paving material and make up a mealy in which you have to avoid stepping on them. (p. 46) In conclusion, humans need stimulation. If the mind is idle then th e person will seek out the stimulation in his or her surroundings.Whether or play is instinctual or learned, I believe that it is both. Most games that we play are learned, such as baseball, disguise and seek, or even make believe games such as house. Obviously, not all forms of play are taught though. As in the example from Godbey, a person will make up a form of play if there are no other options for stimulation. Finally to extrapolate the purpose of play in humans we must(prenominal) first discuss the four forms of play makeed by Caillois (1958). The quest of vertigo in which one tries to momentarily write down the stability of perception, escaping reality for the moment. Games of accident wee Believe Contests which require appropriate training, the activity of skill, and the desire to win As in animals in the wild, play is used to hone a persons skill for later in life. Some examples of this are interacting with other children on the playground, which will approac h pathion social skills, hitting rocks with a stick, which will increase hand-eye coordination, and cloud watching, which will develop a persons imagination. My Definition of Play After contemplating on the various definitions of the term play I propose the followingPlay is voluntary behavior, bounded by rules, experienced by both human and non-human beings, which stimulates the mind and body, prepares an individual for similar in store(predicate) situations, and allows for personal growth within the individual. How Leisure, Recreation, and Play fix Now that I have discussed my definitions of leisure, recreation, and play, I will explain how my definitions are related to one another. As I stated earlier, Leisure is the phenomenon experienced by all self aware beings whose decisions are found out of free will, whether those decisions are made in the conscious or subconscious mind of the individual.Life, to me, is leisure because of our ability to act out of free will. The question should not be, Is this activity a leisure activity? , but kinda, Is this activity considered good or bad leisure? Recreation, I feel, is a subset of leisure. All of recreation can be considered leisure, but not the converse. Recreation is a positive state of mind achieved during any physical or non-physical activities characterized by feelings which are rejuvenating and recreating to the body and spirit. The reason that not all of leisure can be considered recreation is because not all of life is recreating to the mind and spirit.Play is a subset of recreation. Similar to leisure and Recreation, all of play is recreation, but not the converse. Play is voluntary behavior, bounded by rules, experienced by both human and non-human beings, which stimulates the mind and body, prepares an individual for similar future situations, and allows for personal growth within the individual. The main difference is that play is bounded by rules where recreation is not. Some examples of recreatio n that are not considered play would be meditation, reading, or watching TV.If you look at the following diagram, I think it makes it easier to understand the human relationship between all three of the concepts. pic Leisure is all encompassing. Within it lays recreation and play. Although they are both within leisure there are still some aspects of leisure that are not considered recreation. This blue arrow points to this area. The red arrow points to the area that is recreational but does not classify as play. Quality of Life The well-being or choice of life of a person is an alpha concern when trying to understand leisure, recreation, and play in an individuals life.Understanding quality of life is today particularly important in health care, where monetary measures do not pronto apply. Decisions on what research or treatments to practice the most in are almost related to their effect of a patient roles quality of life. There are many components to well-being. A large part is standard of living, the amount of money and access to goods and services that a person has these be are fairly easily measured. Others components like freedom, happiness, art, environmental health, and innovation are far harder to measure and are generally considered to be more important.There are two main strategies we can adopt to cleanse the quality of life in our ordinary lives. The first is to try do outdoor(a) conditions match our goals. The second is to change how we experience impertinent conditions to make them fit our goals better. uncomplete of the strategies is effective when used alone. Changing extraneous conditions might seem to work at first, but if a person is not in control of his or her consciousness, the old fears or desires will soon return, bring around previous anxieties. (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 89) For instance, feeling secure is an important component of happiness.The sense of credentials can be improved by purchase a gun for home protection , placing security locks on the front door, having an alarm whole installed, or moving to a safer neighborhood. All of these actions would fall under making our external conditions fit our goals better. One also has to understand that perfect safety is, in all reality, not possible and risks are inevitable. erstwhile a person understands this then the little terror of insecurity will not have as great of a chance of having a person live in fear ultimately ruining ones quality of life.In society today, wealth, status and ability have become symbols of happiness. People often assume that the rich and famous have very rewarding lives just because of their status. We often assume that life would be better if we were in other peoples shoes. The reality of the situation is that quality of life does not depend directly on what others think about us or what we own, but rather how we feel about ourselves and what happens to us in our everyday lives. Some people today suffer from affluenza , the bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses.It is an epidemic of hear, overwork, dash off and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream. In laymans terms, affluenza is experienced when people have the mastermind that their possessions is what defines them as an individual. This is not to say that having seemly things, being famous, or being is beak physical condition are orthogonal to happiness. These things can be genuine blessings but only if they make us feel better without having to sacrifice other important aspects of our life. Research on happiness suggests that in general, there is a mild correlativity between wealth and well-being.Given these observations, sort of of worrying about how to make a million dollars or how to win friends and yield people, it seems more beneficial to find out how everyday life can be made more harmonious and more satisfying, and thus achieve by a direct route what cannot be reached through the pursuit of symbolic goals (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 91). How Leisure, Recreation and Play Affect Quality of Life Everyone is old(prenominal) with stress. We experience it in varying forms and degrees every day. In small doses, stress can actually be beneficial to us.It is only when the stress becomes too great, affecting our physical or mental functioning, that it becomes a problem. The stress response of the body is meant to protect and turn out us. To maintain stability or homeostasis, the body is constantly adjusting to its surroundings. When a physical or mental event threatens this equilibrium, we react to it. This process is often referred to as the fight or flight response. We prepare for physical action in order to confront or flee a threat. When it is part of a natural reaction to challenge or danger, the bodys response is called positive stress.However, when you feel out of control or under intense pressure, you may experience the physic al, emotional, or relational symptoms brought on by negative stress. Stress can cause both physical and emotional in an individuals life. Stress adversely affects reproduction, sexual behavior, and growth. Stress inhibits the immune system, making you more vulnerable to colds, flu, fatigue and infections. Leisure, recreation and play are natural ways to reduce negative stress that builds up in the body therefore astir(p) ones quality of life.The human body is like any other system in nature. If we dont have ways to vent our stress from everyday life through activities that are pleasurable, we will start to experience the negative side cause of stress. Final Thoughts My thoughts on the subject of leisure, recreation, and play before this paper could not be further from where my thoughts are now. I feel that too much emphasis is located on unimportant things today. Society, more so than ever, has gotten into the habit of treating the symptoms of people, instead of treating the indi vidual.I feel that having a better understanding of the concepts of recreation, leisure, and play and the role they play in your life will ultimately lead to a happier and hopefully longer life. Refrences Braaf, E. (2003). Why animals love to play. Retrieved September 20, 2006, from Find Articles Website http//www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_qa4128/ is_200311/ai_n9307508/pg_1 Caillois, R. (1958). Man, play and games. Glencoe, IL The Free press. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow The psychological science of Optimal Experience. New York, NY. Harper and Row. Fairchild, H. (1944). dictionary of sociology (pp. 251-252). New York, NY Philosophical Library. Godbey, G. (2003). Leisure in your life An exploration. State College, PA make Publishing. Gray, D. and Greben, S. (1974, July). Future Perspectives. Parks and recreation, 61, 49 Hiuzinga, J. (1950). humankind ludens A study of the play share in culture. Boston, MA Beacon rouse Martin, A. (1975, March). Leisure and our inner resources. Parks and Recreation, 69. 1-16 Neulinger, J. (1974). The psychology of leisure Research approaches to the study of leisure. Springfield, IL Charles Thomas Publishers.