Creative Leisure
“Why do you have to go to work, dad? It’s summer.”
This question from one of my younger children a few weeks ago highlights the tendency many of us have to associate summer with more leisure activity. I figured, since it is summer, that even when I can’t actually experience leisure, I might as well write about it. I thought I’d start with an article in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts.
Hegarty, C. B. (2009). The value and meaning of creative leisure. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 3, 10-13.
Both the fields of creativity and leisure have been investigated in numerous studies. Surprisingly little has been discussed about their interrelation, although creativity is among the five functions of leisure identified back in the late 60’s.
- relaxation
- diversion
- knowledge
- social participation
- creativity
Christians should readily accept that leisure time is important, since it was identified as a legal obligation for the Jewish people a few thousand years ago. Hegarty defines leisure as “a psychological state… in which the participant has a high sense of perceived freedom and intrinsic motivation.” It happens when we feel like we can pick among various options and when the motivation seems to naturally flow from the experience itself. We find our self saying, “I don’t have to do this, but who wouldn’t want to?”
There’s a concept that I am certain is crucial for our development. I’ve been trying to find the best way to communicate it for some time now. I’m pretty sure there have been times when I’ve tried and failed. In those times, I’ve probably made it sound like a crazy idea. For a while, I even stopped trying to communicate it because if taken wrong, it could be rather offensive. 
David Hamilton
