The Force of Pleasure - Report Example

LEISURE CONCEPTS JOURNAL by Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor University City/State Date Leisure Concepts Journal Week One: Definitions of the term leisure This week’s lecturers mainly focused on clearly defining the term leisure. It is important to point out that among the various definitions, which have been given to the term leisure; all of them revolve around three major elements: Freedom of choice Self motivating Enjoyable Among the three aspects defining leisure, there are two, which are obvious, and I have been aware of even before the lectures were done, i.e. leisure should be enjoyable and self-motivating. According to an article by Veal (1992, p.44), for any activity to be referred as leisure, it should be enjoyable. A person does not choose an activity, which he or she does derive pleasure. During my free time i.e. free from lectures and compulsory activities, I derive much pleasure from swimming, and hence, consider it one of my leisure activities. The other important aspect of leisure is that it is intrinsically motivating. This act involves choosing an activity for no persuasive reason and the force of pleasure we derive when involving in that particular activity drives it (Veal, 1992, p.46). One particular aspect of leisure that I have taken interest in is freedom of choice. Personally, I find this aspect complicated. According to Hurd and Anderson (2010, p.67), a person is free to choose any activity he or she derives pleasure from. I tend to disagree with this argument because from my personal experience, there are some leisure activities we involve ourselves in, because of the way our various cultures have brought us up and not because we were given freedom to choose. For instance, a kid who has been brought up by Baka people of the forest, derive pleasure from hunting and singing traditional songs since that is how culture has brought him up and not because he has freedom to choose such leisure activities. Week Two: Chronological Development of Leisure Throughout the week, the lecture focused on explaining the history of leisure and how it has progressed through time. From the lecture notes, there are various periods throughout history, which had its unique perspective and approach to leisure. These periods include: Hunter-gatherer communities- In this period, there was no difference between work and leisure since the communities derived pleasure from their work. Greek- Leisure was only for upper class individuals, who used their free time to sit down and reflect on issues affecting their lives. Roman- In this community, leisure was used in preparation for next day’s work and for political reasons where the government would hold discussions with the citizens in order to find favor from them. Middle ages- A time in which differentiation of people on basis of their wealth was evident and hence leisure became a scarce commodity for the poor. However, as Lindeman (1939, p.35) explains, the governments held forums to entertain the poor in order to keep them on their side politically. Industrial Revolution- A period in which there was a clear distinction between work and leisure and with introduction of trade unions, people were able to differentiate between their working hours and leisure time. Modern- This is the period we are living in, with tremendous improvement of technology, many jobs have been automated and work made easier and therefore there is plenty of time for various leisure activities. This lecture left me with a thirst to know what the future held for us in terms of leisure. With the improving technology, our modern society seems not to get satisfied with the available leisure activities. Producers have noticed the trend of the modern society in consuming leisure goods and services and hence are utilizing technology to produce such goods and provide better leisure activities. According to Currell (2005, p54), this trend of the modern society of over consumption for leisure goods and services is one of the root causes of the global financial crisis. This brings us to a question, now that we have almost all the leisure time and activities that we desire, are we a happy society? Week Three: Benefits of Leisure The week’s lecturers concentrated on revealing the various benefits of involving in leisure activities. From the lecturers, it was found out that there are several benefits derived in participating in leisure activities and can be grouped as below: Physical benefits-increased fitness and improved health. Social benefits-improved relations with other people. Psychological benefits-improved self esteem and stress management. Spiritual benefits-appreciating nature and connecting with the spiritual world. Economical benefits- investments in the recreation and hospitality industry. I took interest in the economical and spiritual benefits of leisure. Having read carefully the notes on spiritual benefits, I realized that taking time to reflect on what nature can provide to us could give us an opportunity to reflect and ask questions about our creator. On economic benefits of leisure, I believe that as some people in society are becoming rich and wealthier from leisure activities, others are becoming poorer. According to Morgan (2013, par 3), leisure activities is greatly affecting the modern society negatively, who are spending all their incomes and sometimes taking loans in order to live a life full of leisure. On the other hand, the providers of these leisure and recreational facilities are ripping huge profits and getting richer. Week Four: Leisure, Self Esteem, and Stress This week’s lecturers centered on how leisure activities help in managing stress and improving self-esteem. From the notes, self-esteem is the way we view ourselves. It is greatly affected by what we think others think of us and perceive us. According to Morgan (2013, Par.2), leisure activities gives a person time to be away from the normal stressing daily routines and hence helps in forgetting our troubles and challenges and instead fill our minds with pleasant ideas and thoughts. Leisure does not only relieve psychological stress but also social and physical stress since it helps us in getting into contact with other people in the society and relax our bodies in activities of our own choice, which we derive pleasure from. One particular concept of this week’s lecture that I have really been keen on is how leisure helps in enhancing one’s self esteem. I have been hearing that leisure and self-esteem go hand in hand but I have never really understood how the two are connected. After reading the article by Morgan (2013, par. 2), I can say now that I fully understand the connection between self-esteem and leisure. From the week’s notes and evidence from Morgan’s article, it is clear that when a person participates in leisure activities in a group or partner, it brings a feeling of belonging to the group and significance. When a person involves in physical leisure activities, they enhance their esteem since they feel that they have been able to accomplish something. Week Five: Australian history of Leisure Patterns The lecturers within this week narrowed on Australian leisure patterns and how they have evolved with time. These historical periods of Australian leisure patterns can be divided in the groups below: 1788-1851: This is the period of early colonial Australia, a period in which there were more men than women and licensing laws. 1851-1901: This is the era in which industrialization took place hence with introduction of trade unions, better working conditions and more time for leisure and recreation. 1902-1945: Introduction of technology that simplified many house chores and wireless forms of entertainment. During this era, women had more time for leisure and film and cinema became the common forms of entertainment. 1945-present: With advancing technology, television became an ordinary household item. People spent most of their time glued to their TV screens eating junk food and this explains why obesity became a common health condition among the Australian population. With greater awareness on how to avoid and manage obesity, many people both adults and children are becoming more active in leisure activities such walking, hiking, cycling and swimming. What interested me most this week is current preference of instant sports among the Australian people. According to an article by Mahboobe (2010, p.46), globalization has forced many companies to introduce overtime and squeeze the schedule of workers to maximize profits, hence making the lives of the working class people extra busy with no time for leisure. Therefore, many people prefer the instant sports such as gym since they are convenient. The problem with instant sports is that they are usually done alone and may not produce all the benefits associated with leisure activities. Reference List Currell, S 2005, The March of Spare Time: The Problem and Promise of Leisure in the Great Depression, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp.51-55. Hurd, A.R & Anderson, D.M 2010, The Park and Recreation Professional’s Handbook, Human Kinetics Press. Lindeman, E 1939, Leisure: A National Issue, American Association for the Study of Group Work, New York Mahboobe, R 2010, ‘The Effect of Globalization on Leisure Time’, Asian Journal of Developmental Matters, vol. 4, no.1, pp. 46-50. Morgan, R 2013, Importance of Leisure & Recreation for Health, Available at: http://www.livestrong.com/article/438983-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-leisure-recreation/ Veal, A.J 1992, ‘Definitions of Leisure and Recreation’, Australian Journal of Leisure and Recreation, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 44-48, 52. Read More

 

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