Leisure is the free time that a person has.
Leisure is a person's free time . This is the cessation of work or the total omission of the mandatory activity.
Leisure could be defined as the recreational time that an individual can organize and use according to his or her own will. This not only excludes work obligations, but also the time spent satisfying basic needs such as eating or sleeping.
Leisure as a break from work
The most common use of the concept is linked to rest from work . Leisure, therefore, appears outside of working hours or during vacation periods and it is important not to confuse it with absolute inactivity or boredom; In this regard, the healthiest option is to take advantage of those hours to satisfy the intellectual needs related to the vocation, or for contact with nature and the practice of a sport.
It must be taken into account that the same activity can be considered obligatory for some and idle for others. For example, cooking can be the fundamental task of a chef who works as such, but also the pleasure of a lover of good food, who dedicates his free time to creating and discovering recipes. It should be noted that the mandatory nature does not indicate that there is a greater degree of knowledge, skill or responsibility, since this depends, in part, on the passion and commitment of each person.
Leisure allows you to reduce stress.
The importance of recreation
Historically, leisure has been seen as a luxury of aristocrats, since the rest of the people had to work long hours to ensure their subsistence. Over time, middle-class life has become less harsh; Currently, the crisis is not a sufficient reason not to have free hours and days, at least for single people who only have to support themselves.
It is known that leisure is necessary to obtain better performance , both physical and mental, in our work activity. Whatever our occupation, it is always advisable to respect free time, look for it and treasure it , to recover the energy we have deposited in our obligations and be able to return to them efficiently and with a clear mind. Disregarding rest is a habit of many older people, who bring with them an outdated vision of work, responsibility and morality .
Just as leisure is not considered a waste of time , but rather a period of recreation, work should not be seen simply as an activity, but as a tool to modify the material and mental world through effort. This is the result of various sociological studies that, in turn, distinguish work from leisure due to the recreational nature of the latter; In short, the difference between both concepts lies in the understanding that each one has of the term recreation .
Leisure as an industry
Finally, it is curious to note that leisure has become a colossal industry that , at the same time, offers work to a growing number of people. We live in a time in which almost all of us can indulge in pleasures that, just a couple of decades ago, were reserved for the rich . The tourism industry and international flights have seen growth, especially as more and more people can access them; The same goes for mobile phones and laptops, which are obtained "free of charge" after signing a contract.
Today's life encourages leisure. We are constantly bombarded by offers of products and services that, they try to make us believe, we cannot refuse; If we do, we will be left out of society. Many say that generation by generation, interest in academic training decreases, as well as the sense of responsibility; The ease with which we access entertainment today may be related: a portable device with a persistent Internet connection cannot be blamed for our lack of concentration when studying, but its negative contribution in this context cannot be denied either. .