Leisure

The word ‘leisure’ means time at one’s own disposal or free time which is not filled by work, whether it is by a paid job or by schoolwork or my housework. It is, in fact, ‘time on our hands when we can do exactly what we want to do. It is, therefore, one of the pleasures of life to have leisure and to be able to use it intelligently because, however old we are, or young, we have only one life, and time is most precious to all of us. It cannot be wasted.

If we are wise, therefore, we do not think of leisure as a time to do absolutely nothing, because to do nothing is, for most intelligent people, the most boring thing of all. “Sometimes I sit and think and sometimes I just sit !” is a European saying not to be put into practice! On the other hand, all of us sometimes, need to relax completely. “What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare ?”

Leisure, then, is time to be filled in congenial ways which differ with each individual, but it is wise to fill leisure hours with activities which are different from our main occupation. Thus, we have a chance. for the indoor worker, perhaps a bank clerk or a copy-typist, to spend leisure hours poring over books or cryptic puzzles would constitute no change, whereas, for a gardener or a farmer to do something like this, would provide the contrast needed for relaxation. Indoor workers are better served by doing outside activities and vice-versa.

But again, how we use our leisure depends entirely on our own individual tastes and talents. Here, hobbies and leisure are closely connected. The game lover will spend every available free hour playing the game at which he excels or of which he is fond. The book lover will spend hours poring over books and will be a frequent visitor to the local library. Many people, including Britain’s famous Winston Churchill, find relaxation in painting. He even found it in brick-laying! A music lover will either play his favorite instrument or visit a concert. Television supplies the leisure needs of many.

The more varied the interests of each individual, the more varied, of course, will be his use of leisure. Wise people try to do many different things with their leisure hours so that indoor and outdoor activities are included, as also are passive ones (like watching television) and active ones (like gardening or knitting). In this connection, it is wise for young people to try to develop many interests outside their regular work, some sedentary and some active, so that later on they will not be forced to lead too narrow a life.

A criticism, and rightly so, of many universities in both the East and West is that students have to concentrate so hard on their studies that they do not have time to develop interests and liking for subjects and activities outside their own. This is a pity and the lack of suitable interests for leisure is perhaps most of all felt when men retire from the occupation which has filled their lifetime. Then, at the age of sixty or sixty-five, they find themselves with the rest of life on their hands — all of its leisure. There is a vacuum indeed for the man who is unable to fill any of it with interest and occupation.

Nowadays, it is not only for the old but for all of us that the problem of how to use leisure usefully and well arises. With increased automation, labor-saving devices, and precooked food, the housewife has more leisure than ever before. With shorter working hours and holidays with pay, people all over the world have more free time. A hundred years ago, a man was lucky if he had one-half day a week ‘off’. Today, t is a five-day working week for most people, with two or three weeks holiday with pay every year. This is right and proper, but there are pitfalls which a modern society must avoid. Boredom is one of them and this affects all age groups from the suburban housewife, to the old man who seems to fade out of life because he does not know what to do with it. Teenage crime, juvenile delinquency, and the ‘antics’ of “Mods and Rockers” are attributed by many social workers to boredom which arises out of having nothing to do. ‘Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do !’

The most important point of all, therefore, is to be educated for leisure so that however much free time we may have, and at whatever age, we may always be able to fill it happily and well, thus developing our fullest possible personalities.