You are retired. By this time you have fielded questions about what you are doing with your “leisure time,” a dozen times or more. I can hear you laughing. Everyone I have talked to says that they are busier now than when they were working, and now I know what that means. Leisure time could very well be a myth or perhaps the promise of “something” further down the road. Only the privileged few have time for the promised hours of fishing and playing golf. Senior’s today are busy people who have multi-faceted lives. Many are caregivers with serious responsibilities. Grandchildren, ailing spouses, or other family members come to rely a little too heavily on this person who now seems to be at their beck and call. In addition to family obligations, other seniors devote a significant amount of time to volunteer activities or work part-time for fun or for extra spending money. It doesn’t take long to discover that being retired does not necessarily mean a carefree existence. Still, researchers tell us that older Americans have considerably more free time than their parents and grandparents did.
Contrary to popular opinion, older people enjoy retirement. Increased amount of leisure time ranks high on the list of reasons why. So, perhaps it is time to make sure that you are getting some of that time to do the things you want to do.
The dictionary has a paragraph with a number of interpretations of the word leisure. Most of the words define leisure activity as something that you engage in voluntarily. I found an article by Bonnie Osif in the library (Library Leadership & Management), which cleverly broke down leisure activities into four categories. I thought the categories were more descriptive than the dictionary definitions. The categories make it clear that leisure activities are not a waste of time, but are an important way to create balance in your life. Leisure isn’t all about golf and fishing. The author described leisure activities as being passive, active, and social, or as just a vacation. Passive leisure takes in activities like reading and watching television. Active leisure means doing activities that involve some sort of physical exertion. Social leisure of course, refers to activities that you do with other people. Last but not least, there is the vacation. Ah, vacation! This is probably what comes to mind when you hear the word leisure.
I laughingly called my last vacation a “vacation away from my vacation,” but I found that I really needed the time off. A vacation is different now that we are no longer employed and the purpose has changed altogether. A vacation no longer has to be a time of rest and recuperation, but rather a time for pursuing special interests of your own. Delightful thought isn’t it?
The challenge isn’t so much a matter of what you are going to do with your free hours but in how you are going to channel them to meet your evolving needs.
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