Leisure

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Benefits of Leisure
Some alone time or leisure benefits the body, mind, and soul. It serves as the gateway to the source of immutable contemplation as to what the body needs to thrive in adverse conditions. As such, leisure holds an essential key to the well-being of any individual (Brajša-Žganec, Merkaš and Šverko 82). Since the ages of Plato, emperors, conquers and the knowledgeable men of the distant past, people benefited from having some alone time. Upon visiting Alexandria in Egypt, the successor to Caesar took some time to enjoy the beauty of River Nile. Fast forward to the millennial people centered their lives on a workaholic culture in which the output was equivalent to the input. However, working consumes too much of individuals’ time. Somehow, the thought of work has gained more respect in society than the idea of leisure, but populace needs to reverse the culture. Josef Pieper philosophized that leisure is not only necessary for a goof life, but it is a tool against this culture of workaholics that inhibits people from achieving full potential (Pieper 56). Arguments in the paper aim at expressing how American would benefit from more leisure. In the context of Americans, benefits of leisure hours encompass changing the monotony of life and enable the persons to explore other important activities that improve the wellbeing.
The absence of leisure time in the lives of many Americans has resulted in the emergence of lifestyle diseases.

Studies evince increased cases of cardiovascular diseases in the United States of America. Essentially, the lifestyle disorders exemplify the overindulgence in one line of activity that neglects the physical and social development. Besides, many people are victims of diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Nonetheless, researchers envision that failure to transform the lifestyles to embrace leisure can lead to other complications. The prevalence of this complications detriment the social sustainability, for example, the affected populations are not able to attend to most their work related commitments (Pieper 40). The repercussions contributed to the death because of the lack of access to proper healthcare services. In addition, some people have suffered worse fates by having on and off attacks of illness and are under the constant fear of diseases because of the weakened immune system.
The lack of leisure has affected family and social relations. In essence, leisure time allows an individual to spend some quality time by themselves or in the company of loved ones. The participation in recreational activities also enhances collaboration resulting to a coherent family. In the America, lack of bonds amongst various families is an indication of the disregard for leisure time. In most cases, the children grow up with disgruntled personalities that come to haunt them in their lives at elderly stages individual (Brajša-Žganec, Merkaš and Šverko 86). If families spend some lovely alone time together, it will be of great help for parents because they will be aware of their children’s development. Additionally, the parents are also able to mentor their children into great individuals that can offer substantial contributions to the social and national development. In neighborhoods that are socialized, to have a good amount of time dedicated to leisure, most children transform individuals in the society as compared to their other counterparts mentioned earlier.
Recreational activities also offer people the opportunity to engage in activities that maximize their potentials. A longer life is one that presents the benefits of having sufficient time to engage in critical or passionate activities. Studies have revealed that there are increased cases of death for people who live in areas where people do not have time to do physical exercises. Hence, the US population would enjoy better life expectancy if they embraced the appreciation of leisure activities including train and exercise. More importantly, the physical activities enable people to contemplate and think about the meaning of life. The perspective denotes the use of leisure activities to explore and nurture talents of the individuals (Aristoteles 1). In this view, having a genuinely long life is determined by the quality of life that a person experiences on their short stay on earth. As such, lack of sufficient time to enjoy life denies the American population the longevity of life and self-actualization.
Conversely, leisure time supports the realization of individual dreams, minimizes depression, and enhances individual output in the following ways. First, it allows citizens to analyze, practice, and promote culture awareness. Through recreational activities, an individual can learn the culture of the areas they visit. If children are taken to different Museums around the country, they learn about the past, the heritage, and traditions of the American nation. As such, they end up becoming dedicated individuals who would quickly commit to the service if their nation (Aristotele 1). Likewise, awareness of culture fosters living conditions between the different ethnic groups in America. Black would learn the ways of the whites as well as appreciate the heritage of the Apache Indians. Such great relationship not only helps in fostering unity in the nation but also fosters stability. Thus, leisure supports the gradual development of the society.
Leisure activities are essential for the citizens because it promotes domestic tourism. In essence, America is a vast country made up of many different states. The beauty of the nation broad and many citizens have no idea of the scenic attractions in many other regions. Therefore, embracing leisure would help many Americans to tour and travel the country, the game reserves, historical and monumental sites (Brajša-Žganec, Merkaš and Šverko 87). The impacts of the mentioned activities mentioned would result in the generation of revenue. Additionally, it would also lead to job creation for the millions of unemployed Americans. Thus, embracing leisure is necessary towards ensuring the social coherence and progress of the region as identified.
Additionally, leisure activities have led to the creation recreational facilities, for example, parks and nature trails. The preservation of game reserves and ranges has resulted in the conservation of the environment and the natural sceneries. A favorable environment characterized by the conservation of the essential ecosystem conditions is an indication of sustainability. In this view, engaging in leisure activities by the Americans promote the preservation of areas that help children relax and enjoy healthy cognitive development (Lee, Dunlap and Edwards 317). In addition to their role in assisting children to enjoy their childhood, it helps in cleaning the environment by supporting the critical services. The necessary ecosystem services include supporting the process of photosynthesis characterized by intake of carbon dioxide in exchange for oxygen. While the details of this unusual relationship between plants and the environment may not be clear to many minds, preserving the environment and engaging in leisure activities is important towards the support of the process.
The benefits of having entertainment for the American public by far outweigh its negative impacts. Many people benefit from leisure activities that involve physical exercise. Leisure activities enable individuals to lose weight not just for the aesthetic purpose but also for the health reason. More importantly, it fosters significant cultural ties between people of different ethnical backgrounds. In this context, activities like sporting or touring offer people the opportunity to learn and appreciate the cultural diversity (Pieper 78). Hence, the Americans learn to coexist with others from the social backgrounds. It also helps to promote cultures of preserving the environment as well as supporting the noble projects, for example, creating nature trails for the sake of future generations.
Nonetheless, the lack of leisure leads to many social and health challenges. In regards to family unity and development, the lack of leisure activities creates disjointed families. The minimal or inadequate family ties are a prerequisite for future challenges because it affects child upkeep. The other issue is the deteriorating health resulting from the lack of enough time to exercise. The result has seen an increase in some lifestyle diseases. As such, the arguments presented therein show that Americans can benefit by engaging in leisure activities. Therefore, every American should incorporate or spare time for leisure activities to minimize boredom and support healthy living (Brajša-Žganec, Merkaš and Šverko 90). The learning institutions should also have a schedule that facilitates the change of perception of the students to appreciate leisure. In this view, a joint plan by the relevant stakeholders comprising the government, religious, learning institutions and employers should promote awareness regarding the leisure activities. In addition, the institutions should progress an environment that supports individual and group talent by providing equipment and facilitation for various activities.

Works Cited
Aristotle. Aristotle’s Politics. Chicago [u.a.: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2013. Web.
Brajša-Žganec, Andreja, Merkaš, Marina and Šverko, Iva. “Quality of life and leisure activities: How do leisure activities contribute to subjective well-being?.” Social Indicators Research 102.1 (2011): 81-91.
Lee, Kangjae Jerry, Dunlap, Rudy, and Edwards, Michael B. “The Implication of Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice for Leisure Studies.” Leisure Sciences 36.3 (2014): 314-323. Print.
Pieper, Josef. Leisure: The Basis of Culture ; the Philosophical Act. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2009. Print.