Leisure time for adults is good for their health

Far too many adults are so constantly on the go taking care of their life’s responsibilities that they believe they couldn’t possibly have the time for any meaningful leisure activities. Some may even feel that taking time out for themselves is juvenile, frivolous, or selfish. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Making time for leisure has long-lasting holistic benefits from which any adult would benefit.

Free your mind and take a break

Regularly participating in leisure activities keeps you in great mental health. Adults have so many pressures on the job and at home, that their minds need a break from the stress and worry that can accumulate. When people take the time to unwind with a partner or by themselves, they allow their minds to “turn off”, be calm, and bring joy into their lives through the things they enjoy doing in their down time. By engaging in relaxing pastimes, the mind will have a chance to refresh, thereby allowing it to function more efficiently when it returns to performing non-leisure tasks.

 

The human body: machine or complex organism?

Whichever way you look at it, the human body is an amazing, highly intelligent system, and as such, needs both activity and rest to keep it well balanced, and functioning properly. Wellness in the body comes from allowing for periods of downtime and relaxing activities with loved ones, or in solitude. During these times, the body rejuvenates and repairs. People who make leisure time a priority in their lives will have fewer doctor visits, lower blood pressure and more overall physical wellness.

Relax to Let the Soul Awaken

Finding relaxing hobbies or leisure activities that bring you joy, allows you to be at peace, and experience spiritual resonance at your very core. This state is not possible with an over-active mind constantly ruminating over troublesome thoughts or worries about work and family. Through pleasant, joyful activities, you feed your soul, or spirit, on a deep level that often transcends your thinking mind. When you are in a positive flow doing something that resonates joy and fulfillment on this deep level, you are more likely to have spiritual experiences that will bring peace, and an appreciation of life.

 

Experience the mind-body-soul benefits available to you from leisure activities such as creative expression, physical recreation, hobbies, appreciation of the arts and more.

Why Friends Make Your Life Better

Friends are not just important for children and adolescents to have. The emotional and social benefits of having supportive friends in adulthood is often overlooked, or discounted in some way. It’s easy to place friends on a lesser level once you have the responsibilities of a spouse and parent. However, friends are instrumental to people being secure with their own identity and place in life, raising self-esteem, providing emotional support and providing joy. Here are some reasons why friends can be so influential in people’s lives.

Friends are Identity Shapers

Friends – whether past or present – shape your identity and influence your personality. In childhood, they are the first teachers of social skills. Those children who are not over-scheduled, have time to work issues out themselves with their friends, which leads to superior problem-solving skills and the ability to work out relationship issues as adults. A person’s own sense of belonging in society and their community can be influenced greatly by the friends they keep.

Friends Through Thick and Thin

Life is full of ups and downs, and good friends will be there no matter what, to both celebrate and commiserate throughout it all. Good times are happier when the people one cares about can share in life’s joys, while rough times and even traumatic losses can be weathered better when people have the support of their friends to see them through.

Bringing out the Best in Us

Dedicated, loyal friends will want the best for their companions. They will encourage habits that they believe will help their friends, and help them steer clear of negative tendencies or lifestyles. They can often be that partner in crime people need to shake a bad habit, or to make positive changes in their lives. The best ones can act as role models, or coaches, providing the motivation and encouragement to achieve personal and professional goals that lead to more fulfilling, happier lives.

Sounding boards

When major decisions need to be made, friends can often give sound advice knowing how a potential outcome might affect a well-known companion. At the very least having someone other than family to bounce ideas off of, or get perspective from, is very beneficial when trying to decide what the best course of action is.

The bottom line is, having trustworthy people outside of family enriches people’s lives and strengthens their support network.