Modern life is highly complex. There is little or no leisure. Day’s hard work causes a great strain on mind and body. Leisure is, therefore, necessary for rest and recreation. Thanks to the numerous inventions of science, man now enjoys much more leisure than before. Yet strangely enough it is not spent properly. People normally spend their leisure hours or holidays in playing idle games such as cards, chess and the like or in sleeping or gossiping. There was a time when people had very few wants and therefore did not have to toil much. Naturally, therefore, they had plenty of leisure and they devoted this leisure to meditation or the study of the scriptures.
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Today there are several ways of spending the leisure usefully. They are as follows :
(1) We can spend our leisure in reading books — stories as well as novels, journals, weeklies and dailies. Reading is a source of genuine pleasure. Novels give us varied pictures of life and manners. Books of literature — poetry, drama, biographies— widen our mental horizon and improve our intellect.
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(2) We can devote our leisure to the study of fine arts, such as music and painting. How pleasure some it is to paint a picture! Similarly, music wards off our cares and anxieties and we find ourselves in a heaven of our own creation. Fine arts undoubtedly elevate the mind.
(3) Walking is another useful method of spending our leisure, particularly for students because they are engaged in mental work. Walking is very profitable. It gives exercise to the body. Various sights and sounds of nature have a refreshing effect on the mind.
(4) Another way of utilizing the leisure is gardening. It is a very useful pastime. It gives exercise to the muscles. Weeding and planting need special effort but one is richly rewarded as the sight of beautiful flowers. The nicely laid-out flower beds are a feast for the eyes.
(5) What better way of spending our leisure can there be than playing games or taking part in sports? Games, such as football, cricket, hockey, tennis help the body to grow strong, and a strong body means a healthy mind. Physical fitness makes a person smart. Sports teach us discipline. We learn to obey the rules of the game. We develop the habit of self-discipline. We learn to accept defeat honorably. We develop true sportsman spirit. Games help us to work in team spirit not only in the field but in other spheres of life.
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(6) Lastly, there are excursions and picnics. Students spend their holidays in visiting beautiful places, well known picnic spots and thus add to their store of knowledge. The relics of the past fill us with surprise. We fail to understand how our ancestors could in the absence of all the modern facilities, raise such grand buildings. A visit to the Bhakra dam fills our heart with admiration at the engineering skill displayed there.
Whatever the mode of spending our leisure be, it should be well-spent. It is a sin to spend our leisure on useless pursuits. Modern life is highly complex. There is little or no leisure. Day’s hard work causes a great strain on mind and body. Leisure is, therefore, necessary for rest and recreation. Thanks to the numerous inventions of science, man now enjoys much more leisure than before. Yet strangely enough it is not spent properly. People normally spend their leisure hours or holidays in playing idle games such as cards, chess and the like or in sleeping or gossiping.
There was a time when people had very few wants and therefore did not have to toil much. Naturally, therefore, they had plenty of leisure and they devoted this leisure to meditation or the study of the scriptures.
Today there are several ways of spending the leisure usefully. They are as follows :
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(1) We can spend our leisure in reading books — stories as well as novels, journals, weeklies and dailies. Reading is a source of genuine pleasure. Novels give us varied pictures of life and manners. Books of literature — poetry, drama, biographies— widen our mental horizon and improve our intellect.
(2) We can devote our leisure to the study of fine arts, such as music and painting. How pleasure some it is to paint a picture! Similarly, music wards off our cares and anxieties and we find ourselves in a heaven of our own creation. Fine arts undoubtedly elevate the mind.
(3) Walking is another useful method of spending our leisure, particularly for students because they are engaged in mental work. Walking is very profitable. It gives exercise to the body. Various sights and sounds of nature have a refreshing effect on the mind.
(4) Another way of utilizing the leisure is gardening. It is a very useful pastime. It gives exercise to the muscles. Weeding and planting need special effort but one is richly rewarded as the sight of beautiful flowers. The nicely laid-out flower beds are a feast for the eyes.
(5) What better way of spending our leisure can there be than playing games or taking part in sports? Games, such as football, cricket, hockey, tennis help the body to grow strong, and a strong body means a healthy mind. Physical fitness makes a person smart. Sports teach us discipline. We learn to obey the rules of the game. We develop the habit of self-discipline. We learn to accept defeat honorably. We develop true sportsman spirit. Games help us to work in team spirit not only in the field but in other spheres of life.
(6) Lastly, there are excursions and picnics. Students spend their holidays in visiting beautiful places, well known picnic spots and thus add to their store of knowledge. The relics of the past fill us with surprise. We fail to understand how our ancestors could in the absence of all the modern facilities, raise such grand buildings. A visit to the Bhakra dam fills our heart with admiration at the engineering skill displayed there.
Whatever the mode of spending our leisure be, it should be well-spent. It is a sin to spend our leisure on useless pursuits.