Recreation or re-creation?

By Dan Goodwin

The word “recreation” to most of us means the things we do in our free time, the activities we take part in to relax and enjoy ourselves. We may think of images of playing golf, walking in the country, mountain biking, or simply spending quiet time reading a book.

Think of the word as “re-creation” however and it can bring a whole new interpretation.

Taken literally it means “to create again”. So how do our recreation time and activities allow us to re-create? What is it we are re-creating? And what would actually be of most value for us to re-create to support our lives as creative people?

Here are some possible suggestions:

• Re-creating relationships. Use this time to develop and nurture your relationships. Whether this involves a game of tennis with an old friend, a collaborative creative project with a group of fellow artists or preparing a meal together with your family, you could use recreational time to re-create the strength, loyalty, intimacy and other elements you value most in your relationships.

• Re-creating your own confidence and self-esteem. Spending a small amount of time on a regular basis to boost your confidence in specific areas of your life, or your life as a whole, can be an invaluable investment. Try a few different things and see what works best for you, whether it’s reading affirmations, listening to self-development CDs, creating in a new format, or something else entirely.

• Re-creating skills and strengths. Whatever medium you enjoy creating in, take some time to develop and enhance your abilities in it further. You could do this by taking a class, reading up on the subject, or simply creating more and learning yourself. Also, our strengths are very transferable, so recognise the things you’re particularly good at in one area of your life and re-create them in other areas.

• Re-creating a childlike wonder. We can all remember experiences as children that left us in awe, whether it was seeing a movie, going on a rollercoaster or seeing the first harvest our very own vegetable patch. Learn to re-create this as an adult, be curious, seek out new challenges, new experiences, new people and be as open as possible to being wowed and amazed.

• Re-creating your greatest successes. Take some time to think back to the events and achievements in your life that you’re really proud of, the things you did when you know you did your best and achieved a wonderful outcome. Re-create these times as movies in your head in as much detail as possible. Doing this will help you gain confidence and courage as you approach new challenges, as well as reminding you of all the things you’re capable of.

These are just a few ideas to get started. Take these and expand and add to them for yourself. Think of all the things you can use “recreation” time for to “re-create” and as a result enrich your creative life. •

© Copyright 2006 Dan Goodwin.

04/20/06