Essay on “Leisure” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Leisure

Essay No. 01

Human body is a machine. Like any other machine, it requires rest after working for some time.

W.H. Davies has expressed his views about the modern life which is full of stress and strain in the following words:

“What is this life if full of care?

We have no time to stand and stare.”

Excessive worry about time is the bane of modern man. The doctrine that not a minute should be wasted is fraught with danger. It simply exhorts continuous work day and night and negates the idea of leisure. Leisure is essential for our physical and mental health. A person who has done strenuous physical work for a few hours, needs rest after that. Similar is the case with one who has engaged himself in some mental work or intellectual activity for some time. This is the reason in all schools, colleges and other institutions, in offices and factories there is recess or lunch period. Even shops in posh markets close for an hour or so for lunch which also includes period for recess and refreshment.

One who has done hard physical work for some time, may study some interesting story book or have a look at the pages of an illustrated magazine during the leisure time. He may watch T.V if he doesn’t have a book or is not inclined to read.

A person who has done some hard mental or intellectual work for sometime, may indulge in some physical activity such as a game of badminton, gardening, etc. for the purpose of replenishing the mental stamina.

The period of leisure should not be considered waste of time, even if one just spends this time in gossiping instead of indulging in any useful physical or mental activity. It should be regarded as worthwhile. However, the leisure time should be limited and should not be prolonged inordinately so as to encroach upon the working hours.

Essay No. 2

The Value of Leisure

To be at one’s leisure is to be free from duties or occupation. It means that one is at liberty to do or not to do anything. It is liberation from our routine jobs and responsibilities. It is, in short, to be at one’s ease. Hence, it shows that leisure is a very desirable thing. We are happy to be relieved of our jobs and duties.

The uses of leisure are various. Generally people are their leisure in pursuing their favourite hobbies. They go out for walks or dig in their gardens, or play cards or indulge in outdoor or indoor games. Many people simply do nothing in their leisure. They take complete rest, which is often needed by people whose jobs are strenuous, physically or mentally. It is a good thing to rest thus, so that one will be prepared for one’s work, after some time. But the use of leisure may take other forms too. For example, many people do as strenuous a work as they do in their profession for training themselves in lines other than their own. Freedom from employment for such people is not at all real freedom. It is simply a change from one type of labour to another type. And truly, this is the best use of leisure. Rest does not mean, and should not mean cessation of activities. It is simply change of work which brings real relief. And this relief is good for the body, the mind and the spirit. This is the creative use of leisure. The pursuit of hobbies is, therefore, one of the very best employments of one’s leisure.

Life is full of opportunities, and he who uses these will succeed in life and be a beacon light for others. It is not desirable for men to misuse and waste their time. Life is short and ideals of life are infinite. Each chooses his own and finds fulfillment if each utilizes his minutes for realizing his ideals.

But, unfortunately, not all people imagine what the right use of leisure is. Most of us simply waste our time when we are freed from jobs and duties for the day. We think that doing nothing is a glorious exercise of our liberty. We feel that labour is compulsory, tyrannical and tiresome. We, therefore, must feel idle and think we are resting. But idleness of this kind is not real rest. It only increases restlessness. They say that an idle man’s brain is the devil’s workshop. And they, it seems, are quite right. It we sit idle, our desires and fancies begin to work. And when desires begin to work, the only way to control them is to limit them to some form of labour. The leisure we get should not, therefore, be wasted in gossip or idling.

Some of the popular ways of using leisure are novel-reading, theatre-going and pleasure-hunting. These are good when properly exercised. But the danger of indulging in such desires is that they render us slaves to such pastimes. A pastime is not merely any device that helps us to pass time. It must be a good way of passing our time.

Life is said to be leisurely in the East. It is so. It is the West that time is money and time is measured in minutes and seconds. That is perhaps one reason why the West has progressed so much in many fields of activity. We in India have recently begun appreciating the value of time. If we have to build a progressive nation, we will have to use our time more rationally than many of us now do. If every citizen employs his leisure in nation-building activities, however, small his quota of contribution, there is no doubt that our plans will have a brighter chance of success.

It is the duty of us all to snatch and seize every moment of our leisure and devote it to some useful occupation. For a regular intellectual worker, a good plan would be an engage himself in some kind of manual work in his leisure such as gardening, carpentry etc. On the other hand, a regular manual worker may engage himself in some intellectual pursuits like listening to radio talks, reading newspapers or good books. This will enable one to escape from dullness and monotony of life, simultaneously adding spice to life.

Essay No. 03

Leisure

Leisure gives us an opportunity to relieve the fatigue of our routine work and to revive our enthusiasm for life. Leisure and its importance are perhaps universally recognized, but not all of us use it as well as it should be. The idea of leisure varies from person to person. The attitude of each of us to leisure, and the manner in which we utilize it, vary to the extent, that in many instances, instead of being useful, leisure turns out to be harmful or wasteful. But if care is taken in planning its use properly, leisure can be advantageous in a variety of healthy ways; fulfilling all its noble purposes.

Perhaps the best way to use leisure is by engaging in healthy and interesting hobbies. In such instances, leisure means an opportunity to divert our efforts and attention to activities that can refresh us. Our aim should be to seek a diversion from our regular work, not to stay inactive. Since activity-oriented leisure keeps us occupied rather than idle, it is the ideal way of reviving our interest in our regular work.

But in reality, leisure is rarely used purposefully. There is a tendency among us to idle away our spare time. Some consider leisure as a period for complete rest or total inactivity. Such a tendency is harmful as it will create laziness in us.

Laziness, owing to its very nature, is tempting, and naturally we are attracted to it. But if we fall victim to laziness by remaining idle or by abandoning self-discipline, we run the risk of ruining our lives beyond all chances of repair. More than make us inactive, laziness creates in us unhealthy thoughts and ideas equally harmful to both us and the society. The saying. “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop” is quite relevant in this context.

Another category of people, while not remaining idle, use leisure for such pastimes as watching films or television programmes, playing card games, gambling or gossiping. These pastimes may fulfill some aims of leisure, but not all, and certainly not in a useful or acceptable manner. It is quite possible that undue interest in such pastimes will lead to a craving for them, and ultimately, to an addiction to them. Such addiction can cause a lack of interest in our regular work, and progressively, to a lack of direction in life.

We should always remember that leisure is time, and as in the case of time, the best use should be made of it. Lost or wasted time can never be recovered. A resourceful person plans the use of time both in work and leisure. Leisure may be spent usefully to acquire skills or knowledge. that add to those we already have.

Preparation and planning, in both work and leisure, will ensure that we do not have undue difficulty in shifting from one to the other. Ideally, we should be able to alternate between work and leisure without adversely affecting either. We should use leisure to overcome monotony, not to breed laziness or unhealthy addictions; to have variety and enthusiasm in life, not to ruin it by engaging in wasteful pastimes.