| Mindfulness and Leisure - Majoring in Fun Mindfulness and Leisure - Majoring in Fun
By Maya Talisman Frost Our oldest daughter's boyfriend is majoring in leisure in college. We've subjected poor Sam to plenty of teasing about this. I mean, how can you not joke about a required college course called "The Theory of Leisure"? But the reality is that recreation--that critical ability to re-create our energy and revitalize ourselves--is becoming strong an increasingly important element in our time-crunched lifestyles strong. Recreation majors learn about rock-climbing and outdoor survival tactics, true, but they also focus on the validity of devoting time to wellness via connection with our natural surroundings. Dictionary.com offers this definition of leisure: "freedom from time-consuming duties, responsibilities, or activities." Travel Packages Save up to 25% on Last Minute Deals  "Freedom," it says. That's a big tip right there. It implies that you are released from something, that you have been set free. "Time-consuming duties, responsibilities, or activities." Duties and responsibilities are things we MUST do, but activities are things we tend to choose. It's funny how attached we get to our routines. We end up doing things-even those that we grumble about--without seeing that we chose to do them in the first place and we can choose to stopdoing them. In a culture that worships busy-ness, leisure is an ironic status symbol. Travel Packages Save up to 25% on Last Minute Deals Most of us operate under the premise that we must EARN our leisure time. We see it as a reward for maintaining a frenetic pace for weeks, months or even years. Leisure is seen as the ultimate destination in our work lives, a place calling to us as we toil.We're forgetting that we have the power to choose leisure, even if that takes a bit of creativity and a finely-honed ability to say no. In addition, we're making the critical mistake of choosing an all-or-nothing approach--we see leisure as something we'll have when we retire, assuming we can avoid the stress-related illnesses that might take us down before we get there. Our vitality--as individuals and as a society--is dependent upon our ability to rest, reassess and reinvigorate. We need leisure time to gain clarity and see where we're going. Since my husband and I are 40-something Americans currently living in Mexico, a lot of people assume that we are retired. We're not--in fact, we don't think we'll ever retire in the traditional sense of the word. But we have a lifestyle that is almost laughably leisurely. Every time our landlord drops by, we are sipping coffee in the courtyard, eating popsicles under the umbrella, or floating in the pool. He must think we're the laziest--or luckiest--people in the world, but we like to think of ourselves as working recreation majors. Travel Packages Save up to 25% on Last Minute Deals We're actually extremely focused on work when we're doing it, but when we're done, we play without any hesitation or guilt. We know it's the most important thing we can do for our health, happiness and the quality of our work.We all have the power to make daily choices that give us more time for leisure. You don't need to be rich. You don't need to be adventurous. You don't need to move or quit your job. All it takes is a bit of clarity about what matters most, and more focus on that "freedom" part of the definition of leisure and less on the "time-consuming duties" part. A friend of mine, an emergency room nurse, says that it's a mistake to use the phrase, "Life is short." As she sees it, life is LONG. Recreation Travel Packages Save up to 25% on Last Minute Deals There is plenty of time to relax and play. She's seen a lot of 50-something almost-retired folks in full cardiac arrest, and she's had many opportunities to learn that all work and no play can make Jack a very unhealthy boy.I admire the fact that Sam is majoring in recreation. He's more likely to make a difference in the way people live their lives than someone who is hell bent on creating a new gizmo factory. Save up to 25% on Last Minute Recreation Travel Packages  Sam spent his childhood summers in an isolated cabin on a lake, cavorting with a dozen cousins far from phones, video games, organized sports, or shopping malls. He can't imagine why anyone would choose to live without nature and recreation as priorities.Perhaps that "Theory of Leisure" course should be a requirement for all of us. Recreation Travel Packages Save up to 25% on Last Minute Deals 
Maya Frost has taught thousands of people how to pay attention. Her signature eyes-wide-open approach to everyday awareness has been featured in over 100 media outlets worldwide. Maya is the author of The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education (Random House/Crown). Learn more at http://www.MayaFrost.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maya_Talisman_Frost
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