Blog Summary #1

I have come to the conclusion that leisure as i have been describing in my blogs doesn't necessarily have to do with time. What i think it is related to is my state of mind. I have found that what i consider to be leisure comes from my outlook at that particular moment. It is all about my perceived freedom and my freedom to choose what i will engage in for leisure. If i find cutting the grass to be leisurely then i will engage in that even though it may not seem to be leisure for others, because i am free to choose it. I have to still ask myself, 'What do i understand about the leisure in my life and how does it affect my leisure choices?' I do think that my leisure tends to be constrained, both in terms of interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects, and in terms of what i can do while navigating the responsibilities of work, school and friends. My passion being baseball, i tend to be constrained from spending time with my family and friends during the playoffs, and i am sad that my beloved Yankees have failed to make the playoffs. That intrapersonal constraint of being in a sad state of mind, can hold me back from playing softball on the weekends. I think that if i were to focus on the more positive aspects of it, that there is always next season, my intrapersonal constraint would be lessened. As well, i was only able to see one live Yankee game this year, due to the financial constraints of the cost of the games and the distance.
Overall, i am becoming more of a leisure educated person in deciding what i tend to do for leisure, what i haven't experienced in leisure that i would like to, and in being able to learn more about leisure for leisure itself, i.e. as a end in itself. For example, my blog about the Yankees missing the playoffs and needing an extra hitter, that was said half jokingly, but is still considered to be serious leisure, When i first started my blog entries, i used to think that leisure = free time. Now i realize that's not the case, because i could have free time and not be at leisure, like when i was biking home balancing the groceries. I needed the groceries and balancing them on my bike did not leave me in a happy state of mind when i got home. Who would've thought leisure could be more than just free time...