Essay Sample on Exploring the Multifaceted Notions of Leisure: A Personal Perspective

The word leisure is very common today; however, the edges of its meaning are blurred, and it means many things depending on people's understanding (Stebbins, 2018). Therefore, there is no globally accepted definition of leisure as it covers a broad area. Leisure carries social, psychological, cultural, physical, mental, and physiological aspects, making it challenging to develop a single description that captures all the subjects (Adesoye & Ajibua, 2015). I believe leisure is something that would make a person comfortable and feel to have attained basic personal needs that are hard to acquire in their routine activities. Hence leisure, I think, is achieved by sacrificing a person's daily duties and engaging in an issue that seems relaxed, enjoyable, and attractive. Each person will then understand leisure depending on personal emotions, perceptions, and beliefs as persons cannot share the same experiences.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The literature provides various meanings of leisure with most of the emphasis on the importance of leisure. The benefits of leisure to a person will depend on their definition of what is leisure and what is not leisure. Leisure is essential in meeting basic needs, especially those unable to be attained in the regular work routine (Kelly, 2019). So, leisure provides an opportunity for a person to meet life values and requirements unachievable in normal daily activities settings. I agree with the stated importance of leisure as it should be the time used to complement routine activities or life values and need to ensure individual satisfaction. Leisure should be the time that helps people to feel good about themselves without supervision as they should be free to fulfill their unique needs and wishes.

Leisure is also described as a time when adolescents can acquire knowledge of social and corporate skills, experiences, and physical, intelligence, and explore the roles of their peers, family, or community (Veal, 2004). Also, the lack of leisure for a person is perceived to lead to violence and crimes (Adesoye & Ajibua, 2015). At a certain percentage, I can agree with the author that leisure time is the time of learning new skills and experiences, especially social issues. However, the learning should be out of one's willingness and anxiety to feel whole and comfortable. The necessary foundation for leisure, I believe, is making a person happy and fulfilling their individual needs and concerns. Similarly, societies with low living standards are associated with violence and crimes as they are unable to meet their basic needs, and persons who cannot fulfill their needs in their leisure time are also violent.

Leisure is the time to maintain and sustain man's destiny (Adesoye & Ajibua, 2015). Leisure helps individuals to have socializing opportunities, and they can explore and form their identities. It is a source of interest and satisfaction as a person will exploit the opportunities for being creative and self-development through activities outside their specialization or routine work. The needs satisfied by leisure are relaxation, recreation, individual development, and creative expression, essential for personal health and happiness (Stebbins, 2018). I agree with the statements because leisure should help break the boredom of doing similar issues all the time. Leisure time involves doing something new and exciting that a person has an interest in it.

The concept of leisure can be described as activity, place, time, work, and state of mind (Adesoye & Ajibua, 2015). Leisure as time is stipulated as the free time after or before a compulsory activity. It could be employment, household chores, running a business, sleeping, or eating. Free time is when a person is off the necessities of life, and a person spends it satisfying their interests or needs for individual wellness and personal growth (Stebbins, 2018). I agree that leisure is when a person is not committed to performing the daily routines, and the usage of the time is based on personal interest and choice. When a person is controlled by what to do during their free time, I perceive it as not leisure because there is no personal satisfaction and fulfillment of individual interests. A person should control their own leisure time.

Leisure is also defined as a play or amusement (Stebbins, 2018). A person engages in leisure as a play when carried in a spirit of pleasure and for creative expression. The game needs to be self-voluntary, and pleasurable even though it could involve risks and intense commitments. Play as leisure is regulated and rule-governed with limited space and time (Kelly, 2019). I cannot entirely agree with the author that leisure should be controlled, I feel leisure is when a person is free both from necessary obligations and instructions. Leisure as a game should be when a person is involved in a play that is interested in it, and when playing, the person feels refreshed and happy. Therefore, a person should be free to play in a manner that satisfies individual needs.

Leisure can be defined as an activity when people utilize their time to perform various activities; they have passion. The activities could be grouped as family obligations, remuneration obligations, activity-oriented for self-fulfillment, and social-spiritual responsibilities (Adesoye & Ajibua, 2015). Leisure as an activity, I understand it as an action a person does with intrinsic motivation and own willingness. A person has to perform the activity for relaxation, to broaden knowledge, and to voluntarily help society. Leisure is also defined as an attitude of mind and the condition of the soul (Adesoye & Ajibua, 2015). Leisure aims at making someone feel relaxed and free from daily stressors. Leisure is the result of work but not the opposite of work (Kelly, 2019). It is perceived as freedom from commitment. I think leisure concerning work should be the free time event a person is engaged in voluntarily for self-actualization.

Conclusion

In conclusion, leisure should be when a person is free from routine commitments and uses the time to perform personal issues that result in personal satisfaction, pleasure, and self-actualization. A person should choose the activity to do under no supervision and limitations. Leisure can be understood and defined with time, state of mind, activity, play, and work. The definition of leisure will depend on individual perceptions and feelings.

References

Adesoye, A. A., & Ajibua, M. A. (2015). Exploring the concept of leisure and its impact on quality of life. American Journal of Social Science Research, 1(2), 77-84.

Kelly, J. R. (2019). Leisure identities and interactions. Routledge.

Stebbins, R. A. (2018). Leisure and the positive psychological states. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(1), 8-17. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2017.1374444

Veal, A. J. (2004). Definitions of leisure and recreation. http://www.csun.edu/~vcrec004/ls251/resources/VealRecDefinitions