If you thought visiting art museums and attending cultural activities is highly boring and a sheer waste of time, then you seriously need to think again. Rather, think about the times of the earliest hunter/gatherers, the Early Man and what he did in his free time. Yes, maybe in his leisure time, he went to work on his spinning logs inventing tools and building fires or simply hunting! But have you ever wondered what really occupied his free time? The earliest artists were the hundred thousand year old Neanderthals, paintings the walls of their deep dark caves. So, don’t we need to rethink – Are the human beings progressing as a specie or simply undergoing metamorphosis into machines? Has this got to do something with the ever shortening leisure time on our hand?
In these times, for most people, caught up with their mundanely stressful lives, leisure time does not include stuff like developing a sense of appreciation for finer art. Work related problems and tensions make you mechanical enough to ignore the creative and aesthetic aspects which the humankind possesses. However, in such a rat race, it is increasingly becoming important to slow down and enjoy good and beautiful things around you.
A recent research study seems to support the above mentioned statement quite well enough. The study points out that men and women who engaged in artistic-cultural activities on a regular basis were more likely to recognize with the emotions such as happiness, contentment and healthfulness. The study also stated that a more developed taste in art is directly proportional to your personal healthy lifestyle.
Increasing participation in cultural groups and social activities can also dramatically lower your stress levels and instill you with a deep sense of well-being. A healthy sense of well being is highly necessary to function well as a normal, feeling-perceiving human. Naturally, this strongly prevailing sense of well being helps lower the levels of depression and anxiety.
Creative tasks like joining crafts or baking/cookery classes and activity clubs like swimming, photography, music etc can give you the much needed break to introspect about various facets of life. Similarly browsing through an art museum and gazing at numerous styles of paintings while absorbing their exquisiteness in detail can stimulate those cells in your brain which have been dulled over time. Certainly, this helps to invigorate you internally and you begin to look at life in a positive perspective.
However, this cannot be restricted to artistic activities solely. Amongst women, the study reported, increased involvement in religious gatherings and events could be associated with life satisfaction. Religion apart, sports also held a positive factor for women, since most of them tended to be fitter and happier if they watched or participated in games and sports. Volunteering for social work and community help also can lead to believing in the goodness of your self.
The aforementioned research study may bring out a very obvious truth about importance of leisure but some aspects of the study partly require further analysis. For example: The study would hold true mostly in western or European nations only. In the eastern oriental nations, leisure and cultural sensibilities may vary. Also this does not seem to be a longitudinal research study so one cannot be sure about the future life situations and reactions of the participants. Clearly, more in depth research is required that will re-furnish the almost obvious truth. This can result in dramatically higher number of people involved in leisure activities and thus happier, relaxed, and less stressed people.
The healing characteristics of involvement in both perceptive as well as participatory art and music are now being taken ahead and developed into full-fledged therapeutic sciences. These involve clinically approved methods aiming to heal neuro-generic as well as hypochondriacally associated disorders. But these severe conditions are highly avoidable provided you learn to nurture your life with the wonderful zest for skills and talents. Nevertheless, in order to pursue a normal and healthy lifestyle fulfilled with cherish-able, pure and blissful happiness, it is important to retain the element of curiosity and adventure. After all, living life fruitfully is also an Art and all you need to do is try and become its good Artist.
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