Heart Health - Recreation

The Exercise of Recreation. There is a huge difference between amusement and recreation. Most times when people go to amusement parks, they get amused but they are still tired. Amusement often leaves you more tired than when you started because amusement can drain you. Recreation, on the other hand, refreshes you and renews you. So, if you go on an amusement vacation, most times, you come back tired. But if you go on a recreative vacation, you mostly come back recharged.

While amusement is mostly about what is being done to excite us, recreation is more about what we do to release the creative juices in us. Recreation allows us to express our God given creativity. The more creative you are, the more like God you are. Some people believe that they are ‘not creative’ but there is really nothing like that. There is no one that is not creative. You have just been told that you are not, or your experiences have made you believe a lie. Everybody is creative.

Even if you are not an outdoor person, there are so many things you can do creatively indoors. Do you know that cooking is creative? Cooking actually refuels some people. Painting, writing, playing a musical instrument is creative. Some are outdoor people - fishing is creative. Golfing is creative, do you know that? In golfing, every shot is a creative exercise because you need to envision the shot, the curves and all. There are various ways to play a particular shot, you need to be creative. For some people it is soccer. Do you know soccer is very creative? In fact, soccer is one of the most creative sports I have experienced. For some people, it is swimming.

When you exercise your creativity, you actually are exercising recreation. Guess what? Your heart becomes healthier. Recreation is a heart exercise. Do you know that if you were cranky, upset, angry, bitter, disappointed, or disillusioned and you are given to any of these kinds of recreation, as you engage you will discover that your heart is calmer and your perspective is sharper? The problem may still be there, but you will see it differently. the exercise of recreation is important for heart health.

Reflections
1. What do you need to talk to God about based on today’s reading?

2.Write out one action to take based on today’s reading.