Leisure Concepts Journal - Example

LEISURE CONCEPTS JOURNAL The Name of the Class (Course) Professor (Tutor) The Name of the School (University) The City and State where it is located The Date Leisure Concepts Journal Week 1: What is Leisure? This week’s lecture concentrated on defining leisure based on political, social, cultural and economic perspectives. It provided us with a framework on which we could classify all activities that we perceive as leisure to suit our expectations about leisure. Equally, the lecture added several other dimensions from which we can define leisure depending on experiences and activities. The study of the first week was built on the fundamental question; in which order would you arrange activities such as cycling, hiking, reading, exercise and sport to bring out the best definition of the term leisure. From this question, it is possible that leisure does not have a specific definition and the hierarchy of activities perceived to be leisure varies from one individual to another. From this week’s lecture, it became more evident that leisure is a broad term whose definition can be altered to suit one’s interests, desires and expectations (Page and Connell, 2010). However, amid all these possibilities, leisure maintains an element of activity and experience. Interestingly, leisure activities can come automatically or forcefully. For instance, walking to and from work can be leisure if it is out of volition but cannot be regarded as leisure if it is because of traffic. However, in the process, we can find leisure as we walk along. The lecture was quite captivating right from the beginning to the conclusion. Notably, I found the experience segment of leisure the most interesting. It was quite surprising to learn that contrary to belief, leisure can be defined distinctly from the factors of free time, activity and as relaxation (opposite of work).Through the lecture, it became more evident that leisure does not conservatively depend on the moment, but rather the satisfaction one gets through anticipation and recollection. Out of this, it is possible for us to turn activities deemed to be demanding, boring and strenuous into a leisure activity by recollecting a single moment of enjoyment after the exercise (Godbey, 1999). It is worth noting that amid all the excitement and captivation, the lecture exhibited some form of confusion through the multiple contexts in which leisure is evaluated. Additionally, leisure varies from one person to another across many activities. How then do we get out of this confusion? It is vital to understand that leisure is basically any moment we enjoy what we are doing out of volition rather than obligation. Personally, I regard leisure as a time when we direct our energies and minds towards activities which make us better in a free environment. Week 2: The Historical Development of Leisure This week’s lecture took us through the development of leisure in history, from the early days as a product of Western society construction. The lecture concentrated on the key historical events that triggered the eventual rise of leisure from a practice of a few communities to a global phenomenon. Neolithic Revolution-Touted as the first phase of the Agrarian Revolution, it took place around 8000BC and led to the settlement of nomadic communities on fertile lands. This implied that they could no longer move and as a result, they started to engage in other activities such as farming, pottery and trade (McLean and Hurd, 2011). With this growing list of activities, the need for specialization of labor was inevitable. This meant that each member had specific duties and thus when they were not engaged, they had time to spend relaxing and refreshing. Greek Origins of Leisure-The rise of slavery in Greek was orchestrated by the culture of haves and have nots. Those who ranked lower in the hierarchy were turned into slaves while the elite had more free time to engage in activities that brought about satisfaction and self-actualization (leisure). The Middle Ages-The society in this period was based on a class structure which dictated that nobles and peasants had specific duties to perform. However, their close affiliation to the church meant that they had to be involved in leisure activities in terms of festivals and pilgrimage. Industrial Revolution-The growth of industries led to activism (trade unions) meant to advocate for better working conditions for workers. Some of the demands included reduction of working hours and accordance of free time (Parr and Lashua, 2004). This sparked a wide realization of workers’ right and with time, leisure gained more recognition. Through the lecture up to this juncture, I could only view leisure as the best moment in anyone’s life without any negative implications. However, the penultimate sections made me realize that leisure has and will continue to enslave humanity. The rising consumerism translates to an increased desire for leisure goods. Ultimately, this means that man has to work harder to afford these products and in the process, leisure time is significantly reduced! So, why fight for leisure and then end up succumbing to its dangers? Life cannot be fulfilling minus moments of enjoyment; neither can we live comfortably under intense pressure to meet multiple obligations from the scarce resources we have (Korpela and Kinnunen, 2010). This is the dilemma occasioned by leisure and whose answer is not foreseeable. Week 3: The benefits and disbenefits of leisure The lecture this week was centered on understanding the merits of taking part in leisure activities. These benefits fall under five (5) broad categories which touch on the important spheres of life; Spiritual -Adventures and expeditions brings one into close contact with nature and appreciate our existence and the universe. Physical-Most leisure activities make us physically fit and reduces vulnerability to conditions such as obesity. Social-Interacting with friends, family and prospective friends at social contexts brings about personal realization and appreciation. Psychological-Mental relaxation, recollection, meditation, evaluation and reflection which amount to a focused and re-energized mind. Economic-The ballooning household spending on leisure has made it an integral part of personal and national budgeting which cannot be skipped and whose fulfillment brings a sense of economic accomplishment to millions of people across the world. Looking at the five categories, I found it hard to comprehend how leisure economically benefits an individual owing to the fact that most leisure activities (like foreign tourism, hiking, skating) require substantive amounts of money (Parr and Lashua, 2004). The bottom line remains that money is the fundamental gateway to most leisure activities and thus, it is surprising how we keep embracing it. Is there a way we can do away with leisure? Is there a way we can have leisure without spending crazy amounts of money? These answers are important in trying to evaluate our current position about leisure. While the probability of a negative response is highly likely, this internal debate can help us understand the strides we have made as well as the challenges we need to overcome. Personally, I feel the hype surrounding leisure should not overlook the importance of evaluating the need for a comfortable and long life. I don’t buy into the idealism of leisure as the ultimate human experience. Most of the leisure activities that people yearn for are marred by uptake of alcohol and other substances which threaten our well-being. Why then do we have to spend millions on activities that will eventually hurt us? According to Veal, Darcy & Lynch (2015), the willingness to spend on leisure is motivated by the need to conform to a certain setting rather than personal choice. I belief that the classification of economic benefits as one of the merits of leisure is not only misleading but also questionable-though most people will argue that we live to enjoy and enjoy to live. Week 4: Self-esteem, Leisure and Stress The week 4 lecture was a continuation of the readings from the previous week about the merits and demerits of leisure. This lecture narrowed down to improved self-esteem and stress reduction as benefits of participation in leisure activities (Baumeister, 2013). We firstly concentrated on the ‘self’ aspect that occurs in two segments; ‘I’ factor-Perceived image of ourselves, our thoughts and the internal conviction we have about our abilities. ‘Me’ factor-The perception we have about how others see and regard us. This can be true or false because we have no parameters to accurately measure other others’ perceptions. The study went a notch higher to demonstrate the four (4) positions from which we perceive ourselves; Attainable self-Setting a target of how we want to be and working towards that. Undesired self-What we don’t want to become and can do anything possible to avoid it. Ideal self-The self we feel we ought to be but may prove impossible due to some shortcomings. Ought self-What we want to be because others also want us to be like that. I found the self-esteem segment interesting because I have often had problems with its definition as I felt it points to some sort of selfishness. How can one define and place himself above others? What parameters can be used and how well do we utilize that esteem so that others don’t feel inferior. However, one article titled ‘Leisure and social inequality in Australia’ solved my confusion. It became clear that every person aspires to cultivate a positive image and trust among his peers. The incorporation of sport in the study as one of the means of improving self-esteem further fostered my understanding and belief in self-esteem. I regard sport as a uniting factor and a platform to bond and exploit our abilities. Sports boost confidence and give one the additional impetus to take his/her performance a level higher. One of the confusions that emanated from the lecture was that self-esteem has to be regulated to tame it from hitting high levels which translates into self -destruction. How do we avoid this and yet end up reaching the levels we want. However, according to McLean and Hurd (2011), we can be our own monitors by doing what we are convinced is right for us but also not bad for others. Week 5: Leisure Patterns in Australia The last week of the lecture narrowed down to the Australian setting and looking how leisure activities have evolved over the years(1788-present).The lecture was aimed at answering four(4) questions; How do Australians spend their free time? What informs their choice of activities? How has the trend changed over the past half century? What is the future? The historical development of leisure in Australia took place in phases which were characterized by certain activities which stood out during those periods. From 1788-1851, leisure was majorly dominated by imported activities as a result of British domination (McKay, J 1986). Key activities included horse racing, shooting, and fishing, cards, bull-baiting and gambling (Payne.,et al, 2010). Additionally, these activities were dominated by men and women participated exclusively through prostitution. From 1851-1901, the dynamics had changed and more people were working in gold mines. The working hours were reduced to 8 and weekends became leisure opportunities (blood sporting continued, sports became official).The influx of Chinese, Irish and Germany popularized dance, song, revelry, film and cinema. Between 1901 and 1945, technological advancement led to racing, swimming, cricket, swinging and scenic drives (Selwoodet al., 2004). From that period to present, the leisure patterns have been characterized by soccer, home entertainment, cuisine, festivities, cafes and wine and food festivals. I found the lecture interesting especially the part of flexibility of lifestyle as the motivation behind the majority of Aussies participating in non-organized leisure. Out of the gradual steps that leisure has taken to the present, there is a growing deliberate move by working people to split their time between work and personal schedule. There is a growing belief that this is not only achievable but also sustainable (Alexandris, Douka, Balaska, 2012). I tried to figure out this scenario and realized that within the context of my community, this is almost unattainable. Adults do not find any urgency because they deem it as wastage of time. This conservative approach however does not extend to the young ones as they turn nearly every opportunity into leisure time, yet they rarely face challenges that arise from absconding leisure activities. Bibliography Alexandris, K., Douka, S. and Balaska, P., 2012. Involvement with active leisure participation: does service quality have a role?. Managing Leisure,17(1), pp.54-66. Baumeister, R.F. ed., 2013. Self-esteem: The puzzle of low self-regard. Springer Science & Business Media. Godbey, G., 1999. Leisure in your life. An exploration. 5th edition. State Collage: Venture Publishing. Korpela, K. and Kinnunen, U., 2010. How is leisure time interacting with nature related to the need for recovery from work demands? Testing multiple mediators. Leisure Sciences, 33(1), pp.1-14. McKay, J., 1986. Leisure and social inequality in Australia. Journal of Sociology, 22(3), pp.343-367. McLean, D. and Hurd, A., 2011. Kraus' recreation and leisure in modern society. Jones & Bartlett Publishers Selwood, J., Tonts, M., Hall, C.M. and Müller, D.K., 2004. Recreational second homes in the south west of Western Australia. Tourism, mobility and second homes: Between elite landscape and common ground, pp.149-161. Stodolska, Monika, and Gordon J. Walker 2007. "Ethnicity and leisure: Historical development, current status, and future directions." Leisure/Loisir 31, no. 1 : 3-26. Page, S.J. and Connell, J., 2010. Leisure: an introduction. Pearson Education Limited. Parr, M.G. and Lashua, B.D., 2004. What is leisure? The perceptions of recreation practitioners and others. Leisure Sciences, 26(1), pp.1-17. Payne, L., Ainsworth, B. and Godbey, G. eds., 2010. Leisure, health, and wellness: Making the connections. State College: Venture Publishing. Veal, A.J., Darcy, S. and Lynch, R., 2015. Australian leisure. Pearson Higher Education AU. Read More