Work and leisure are inter-related. They are like the two sides of a coin. One works hard only to have some leisure because “man does not live by bread alone”. So, leisure may be called spare time, free from labour or drudgery of life. It is the best of all diversions.
The rapid and radical scientific and technological advancements have made life easy and convenient. But for many, leisure may be a problem as they may not know how to use and enjoy their spare time. For them, leisure may be more boring and monotonous than the daily drudgery.
A person can be best judged with the way he or she uses the leisure hours. It never means frittering away precious time in drinking, gambling or idle gossiping.
It should be viewed as a golden opportunity and used for healthy enjoyment, intellectual, spiritual, cultural and artistic pursuits. One may spend this time in playing with children, listening to their stories or in observing nature and birds.
The proper use of leisure hours can help us in shaping and developing our personality in the desired way. Leisure provides us a rare opportunity to satisfy our inner demands.
By means of our regular occupations and professions we satisfy our physical and material demands. Different people spend leisure differently. In modern times, viewing television is becoming more and more popular.
In India also, more number of people spend their time before TV sets viewing films, popular serials or other programmes. But watching TV for long hours has its inherent risks as it is a passive entertainment and there is no participation by the viewers in it.
Short work weeks and automation of activities have resulted in more leisure and spare time. The danger of mental dissipation, flirtation and killing of time in idle entertainment has increased. Leisure is a double edged sword which is in our hands.
Therefore, leisure with purpose and some meaning should be our aim. If we stick to the principle of ‘leisure with honour’ then it would be no problem at all. We must be alert and watchful against the abuse of leisure.
To sum it up in the famous Roman statesman Cicero's words, “The thing which is the most outstanding and chiefly to be desired by all healthy, good and well-off persons is LEISURE with honour”.
Harini is a class IX student at Kendriya Vidyalaya Picket school