Rest, Entertainment and Recreation

Life is increasingly busy, dominated by work and pressured by a variety of commitments. It

is against this backdrop that rest and relaxation seem to be becoming increasingly important.
It is something that we all think we need.

When we think of rest and relaxation, two other ideas immediately come to mind, namely
recreation and entertainment - and the two are usually appreciated synonymously.
Recreational activities provide rest and relaxation, as do entertainment ones. However
recreation is, subtly if not quite, different to entertainment. Additionally, it seems almost
axiomatic that they are juxtaposed against work and family. However, this is not the case.

The word rest comes via Middle English from the Old French word reste, and ultimately
from rester, which means "to remain" and from the Latin word restāre, which literally means
"to stay behind". The related word relaxation comes ultimately from the Latin word relaxare
which means to "relax, loosen, open," (re- "back" + laxare "loosen" from laxus "loose"). So
we can see that rest and relaxation are states (as opposed to activities) in which we cease
going forward and are somehow "loosened".

The word recreation ultimately comes from the Latin word recreare which means "to
refresh, restore," (from re- "again" + creare which means "to create, to make or to produce").
Interestingly, creare is related to crescare which means "to arise, grow". Accordingly, we
can see that recreation is an activity (as opposed to a state) which "refreshes and restores"
and which produces growth.

Quite interestingly, the word entertainment comes form the Old French word entretenir
which means "to hold together". It has two roots entre which means "among" and tenir which
means "to hold" (from the Latin tenere "to hold"). Somehow then, you are held/diverted with
entertainment.

I think these slightly different etymologies beg some interesting conclusions.

Rest and relaxation are states of being, not things we do. In these states we are "loosened"
from an implied a priori state of being "tight" - and this is congruent with our everyday usage
of the word. Furthermore, as our lives gradually drive us "forward and onwards" and "tighten
us up", rest and relaxation seem necessary counter-mechanisms.

In contrast to rest and relaxation, entertainment is an activity in which we are held. It would
seem that the obvious way in which we are held is through our attention being held. Again,
this would seem congruous with everyday usage. It is interesting to note that there is no
element of rejuvenation or renewal inherent in entertainment, only that we are diverted -
presumably from the main path of our lives.

Recreation in contrast to both these ideas is an activity in which we are renewed or re-created
and through which we grow. Far from simply being an cessation of our attention and energy
(as in the case of rest and relaxation) or an abduction of it (as in the case of entertainment), it
is the conscious engagement of it in a creative act.

When thinking about creativity I am immediately reminded of some of Jung's observations

about creativity.

Creativity is an activity of the soul.

The organ of perception, the soul, apprehends the contents of the unconscious,
and, as the creative function, gives birth to its dynamis in the form of a
symbol.(Jung 1971, p. 251)

Creativity involves our imagination.

We know that every good idea and all creative work are the offspring of the
imagination, and have their source and what one is pleased to call infantile
fantasy. Not the artist alone but every creative individual whatsoever owes all
that is greatest in his life to fantasy. The dynamic principle of fantasy is
play, a characteristic also of the child, and as such it appears as inconsistent
with the principle of serious work. But without this playing with fantasy no
creative work has ever come to birth. (Jung 1971, p. 63)

Creativity is something that we must submit to.

Analysis of artists consistently shows not only the strength of the creative
impulse arising from the unconscious, but also its capricious and wilful
character. (Jung 1966, pp.74-75)

Creativity is larger than ourselves.

Creative power is mightier than its possessor. (Jung 1954, p. 115)

Creativity will never be fully understood.

The creative act, being rooted in the immensity of the unconscious, will forever
elude our attempts at understanding. (Jung 1966, p. 87)

Their will be a tendency for us to identify with the outputs of our involvement in creativity.

Like all psychic life the creative process stems from the unconscious. If you
identify with the creative process you usually end up by imagining that you
yourself are the creator. (Jung 1967, p. 787)

Creativity is essential for our wholeness.

Only in our creative acts do we step forth into the light and see ourselves
whole and complete. (Jung 1969, p.379)

From this brief excursion into the ideas of rest, entertainment and recreation, we can see that
they all relate differently to our hectic lives, and that only recreation, when understood as a
creative activity, can contribution to our wholeness. Only recreation, when understood as a
participation in a trans-personal creative process, can transcend our limited lives. Only
recreation is a spiritual counter-balance to the everyday.

Perhaps, the entertainment society is inimical to our spiritual development...

References:

Jung, C. G. 1954, The Development of Personality, Bollingen Series, vol. 17, trans. Baynes,
H. G., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Jung, C. G. 1966, The Spirit in Man, Art, And Literature, Bollingen Series, vol. 15, trans.
Baynes, H. G., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Jung, C. G. 1967, The Symbolic Life, Bollingen Series, vol. 18, trans. Baynes, H. G.,
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Jung, C. G. 1968, Psychology and Alchemy, Bollingen Series, vol. 12, trans. Baynes, H. G.,
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Jung, C. G. 1971, Psychological Types, Bollingen Series, vol. 6, trans. Baynes, H. G.,
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.