What is the Point of Leisure?

           The online dictionary form Merriam-Webster defines leisure as “freedom provided by the cessation of activities: time free from work or duties”. The point of leisure cannot be singularly defined; it is relative to each person and even to different cultures. It can be a time that one reserves for themselves, just to relax, be alone, and do what one pleases without having to worry about anything or anyone else. Or this free time can be used to be with family and friends, to take a trip, read, or just about anything as long as it is the choice of the person. It seems that that is the whole point of leisure; to be able to choose what one wants to do and who to spend the time with. And this time away from work and other tasks is very important in the lives of individuals and in their cultures. Both the United States and Italy enjoy leisure time.

The concept of leisure in the United States is somewhat odd. Free time from work is something that people desire, however having too much free time is often looked at as being lazy or not ambitious enough. In our society, one is taught that one must work, and work long and hard to get ahead. And this is true to some extent. However when work and the pursuit of money gets in the way of important things such as family and leisure, it can do harm. Gaudium et Spes stresses the importance of cultivating a person’s mind not only through formal education but also through cultural experience. The text states, “A man is more precious for what he is than for what he has”. In our culture of constant work and little leisure time this can sometimes be difficult for people to do. Relating to this the document also says, “It happens too often, however, even in our days, that workers are reduced to the level of being slaves to their own work. This is by no means justified by the so-called economic laws.” Our cultures leisure time also seems (not for all but for some) to revolve around individual and inside activities such as watching TV or playing video games. In limited quantities these are fine, but they seem to differ from the normal Italian concept of leisure.

From observing people in Rome and other Italian cities it appears as though the Italian concept of leisure differs slightly from our own. First, the work life is not as prolonged as in the U.S., there is time for Italians to do other things besides constantly work. It has also been noticed that free time sometimes means sitting down to a cappuccino with a friend or family member and talking. Of course we also do that in the U.S., however here it seems part of the everyday routine. Chapter ten in Barzini’s book The Italians is titled the “Pursuit of Life”. Even though often time’s leisure will not let one acquire more money, it gives the opportunities to gain more important things and to pursue not just an existence, but a life.