Nature has endowed each one of us with natural tendencies of entertainment to cope with all stresses of life. But we remain unaware of this oasis because of our extrovert attitude and our superficial understanding of ourselves.
A little thought on the purpose, genesis, nature, and the ‘process’ of experiencing entertainment, will make it clear that there are no specific criteria to define or measure entertainment. Neither are there any devices or means, which will certainly provide a particular kind of entertainment. The purpose could be served by alternate means even if one is in a specific mood to get a particular type of entertainment. (For example if one is in the mood to watch a specific movie but no tickets are available for any show on that day then he or she may opt for some other movie, theater, or show). One does not have to wait for a special opportunity to have the delight of entertainment only by some specific means. One does not have to arrange for any gadgets, search for the right mode, call a meeting, etc for this. The real source of entertainment is available all the time, one only needs to feel it, awaken it and revive it.
We all have experienced sometimes or the other that a tired body or a strained mind feels relaxed and relieved for some time by watching or doing something pleasant or enthusing. Exerting hard at work is not so much a cause of fatigue, as considering work as a burden. We often forget the fact that all works can’t be of our liking; every circumstance can’t be favorable. Tension or pressure – which is usually experienced in professional life these days – of completing a task beyond one’s potential causes mental fatigue and stress. But to a great extent, the stressed person is himself or responsible for this state. He/she runs for lucrative jobs and fat salaries in a hurry to become rich and successful. One invites or creates stressful circumstances by joining the rat race of fast-track ‘progress’ or by expecting and desiring beyond one’s own worth and capabilities.
Many a time one expects the circumstances to turn favorable and the people around to act as per one’s will or to remain supportive as they were sometimes earlier. One should remember that everything in the world is changing. Everyone has his/her own predilections that also vary with time. We can’t expect anyone to say or do what we like. If one can’t discipline one’s own body and mind, how could one expect to control others’ minds? It is a sign of maturity and wisdom on our part to assess the circumstances and manage our aspirations and expectations accordingly.
“To deserve more and yet want less” is what corresponds to an intelligent way of gaining satisfaction and self-restraint. Adopting the principles like — “strive for victory and have malice for none” and “try for the best, be prepared for the worst”, in practice is the key to a fulfilling and progressive life without any stress or tension. It is not easy, but you have to start somewhere. Once you are determined to follow it or develop a ‘taste’ for practicing it, your mind will start enjoying it. This will also trigger your hidden tendencies of ‘self emerging’ entertainment.
Stress Was There in The Earlier Times Too!
We often get the impression that our ancestors had an easy life, there was no tough competition or tension. It appears as if the hazard of stress has surfaced only in the past few decades. That is not quite correct. Its form and causes might have changed and the number of people suffering from mental tension and stress might have gone up in recent times, but stress has been a part of human life since the primitive age of civilization. In the early days of civilization, the struggle for survival was the cause of stress but this, similar to the stress given to start a mechanical engine, generated the zeal to face the adversities and enabled the ascent of civilization. This kind and level of stress have always been a part of the evolution of life. Nature has also endowed us with enormous potential to use it as an impetus to progress.
Why Stress is a Hazard Today?
Similar to the cropping up of ‘clever’ evil tendencies, the manmade complexities of stress also increases with the excessive ambitions and passions of mankind. Stress grows manifold because of wrong attitudes and unchecked instinctive and egotist desires. The irony is that one adopts artificial and unmindful means of entertainment to get rid of this stress and in turn, fuels negative effects and vulnerability to suffering more tension and mental and physical weaknesses. The downward trend of medieval times is a well-known example to illustrate this fact.
The emperors and generals of medieval times spent most of their life on battlefields. Their thirst to expand their territories and the fear of enemies’ attack from the neighborhood used to keep them excited, tensed and overburdened most of the time. What could be the worse form of a stressful life? They used to feel stimulating entertainment in wine and women without realizing that it was further fueling their passions. When they came out of this intoxicating pleasure, ambitions of grabbing more lands, wealth, and women used to take over. If there was no possibility of conquering more, they attempted to quench their arrogance by hunting and killing innocent animals in the forests. They used to find pleasure in wild displays of cruel might.
Another means of royal relaxation they adopted was fishing. This tradition has continued in the later generations of pompous
affluents too. Except for the fisherman for whom it is a means of bread & butter, what exactly is the purpose of fishing? In reality, this fashionable hobby of the riches is simply ‘killing time in taking the lives of tiny creatures’. Entertainment via shooting the flying birds or via horse races, etc also falls in this category of harassing innocent animals for wild excitement. Horseracing is also a mode of gambling for many. For them, gambling and bidding is also a hobby, a source of entertainment, which often turns into an addiction and also augments their hidden stresses and animal instincts in several ways.
Why would one need a bandage if there was no wound? Why would one take painkillers and physiotherapeutic massaging if there was no pain in any part of the body? Why would one stain the history of mankind with terror and tyranny if one had no devilish ego or ambitions like that of Aurangazeb, Changez Khan, and the like? If one were satisfied with modest resources and simple living, one would never have to face the inevitable stresses invited by audacious ambitions and selfish passions to acquire power and snobbish possessions. Then there would be no need of relieving such stresses and no possibility of further fuelling the fire of passion with obnoxious entertainment.
In fact, no kind of entertainment would alleviate the stresses generated because of cruel mentality, arrogance, and obsessions of the kind cited above unless the root cause itself is weeded out.
Creative Entertainment & Stress-Relief:
Excursion trips with the purpose of gaining knowledge and practical experience in a chosen field of knowledge are counted among creative entertainment. It is different from roaming around, touring for picnicking, sightseeing, and shopping. The latter may provide a temporary diversion and joy but the net gain is nothing. That way one may just stand in a corner and watch the traffic on a busy road or amuse oneself by looking at varieties of people and their activities on a crowded railway platform or bus stand. Visiting grand funfairs, and crowded galas is also similar. One will spend more money and get more fatigue and risk of infection than gaining real entertainment in such activities.
Trekking in the countryside full of natural beauty and the soothing breeze of fresh air on the banks of a river is so different from walking on the busy market streets of megacities or hogging and shopping in a mall. Both may provide diversions and expose one to new attractions, but the latter only adds more to one’s strain and stress than providing any rejuvenation. Having Nature’s serene proximity in the farms or gardens, or simply having keen observation of the flora and fauna near the house, watching the activities of animals and birds around provide a joyous diversion to the mind and also offer new knowledge. If that is not possible, then re-arranging the house, cleaning, and organizing the setup at home or the office would also be good options for recreation. Watering the plants, gardening, planting and nurturing trees in the surrounding area, etc are far more satisfying, useful and soothing activities and creative modes of stress alleviation than attending lavish parties or watching some vague movie.
Quest for new information and knowledge is Nature’s reward to the human mind. That is why reading and discussions also offer creative entertainment. However, the topics taken up in these are again a matter of one’s interest. Reading substandard novels or books on erotic subjects, and discussions or pondering on related topics are contrary to these powerful modes of creative diversion. Gossiping also counters the positive impact and amounts to sheer wastage of time and energy.
You may read lightly but you should also introspect and analyze whether or not it is adding to your knowledge or useful information, satisfying your quest to know the world better, giving positive and constructive direction to your thoughts, or glazing your intellect. What do you often talk or discuss, and with whom, also needs to be scrutinized. You need not be an intellectual or learned person. You only need to be aware of the natural quest of the mind and watch your thoughts. Your mind will start enjoying this self-inspection of the flow of thoughts and gradually develop a creative interest in good
reading, listening to good lectures/discourses, and participating in meaningful discussions.
Sports played as refreshing exercises are wonderful means of enthusing the mind and energizing the body. Not only the games in a playground or tennis and badminton courts, but some people also enjoy sitting for hours playing cards, sitting in front of the chess board, and spending the whole day watching a cricket match. It gives them pleasure mainly because their minds feel no pressure of losing or winning, of gaining praise or suffering insult, etc.
This indicates that any task that engages the mind in doing some creative work and that is not linked with any profit or loss, or with any kind of success or failure, may also serve as creative entertainment for relief from stress.
Any task that is carried out with sportive enthusiasm and positive conditioning or engrossment of mind will become
entertainment, no matter how much hard labor it may require. Then there will be no fatigue or stress in doing it irrespective of whether it is a new challenge or a routine job. If the mind is meandering elsewhere or is indifferent or unwilling to do something, then no matter how comfortable or beneficial the job is, it would appear vexing, tiresome, and straining.
It is all the shading of the mind that makes something boring and stressful or interesting, rejuvenating, and fulfilling. We should therefore learn to change our outlook as per the tasks at hand in a given circumstance and cultivate a temperament to regard every work as useful and important. A little training of mind and practice will awaken our up-till-now dormant tendencies of natural entertainment and make life a field of joyful sports.
An Easy Exercise:
Natural smile on one’s face is indicative of a happy and relaxed state of one’s mind. Gloom, fear, despair, arrogance, stress, and related negativities cast unpleasant or repulsive shades on the face that cannot be hidden by any amount of makeup. An expression of childlike joy and natural calm on the other hand makes even a wrinkled face of an old person glow with charm. Everyone gets attracted towards a happy child and wants to play with him. The cheerful face and natural grin of a child make him so cute and attractive. You should also attempt to keep smiling.
Practice of making a smiling face renders instant and effective entertainment, as it relaxes the nerves and muscles in the brain and facial region up to the neck. Take a deep breath. Now look at your face in a mirror and try to smile in such a way that would look most natural and attractive. This attempt itself will lighten and divert your mood. The sight of your own smiling face in the mirror will induce a spark of cheer in your mind. This simple practice will become a habit and help you remain ever smiling and calm. The glow of your natural smile would also create a soothing ambiance for the others around.
If your face is beaming with a sober smile, anyone who looks at it will also get a cheering signal and reciprocate accordingly. Smile is like a mirror through which you may see the pleasure of your face reflected on others. It is like a message in a subtle language that echoes in the surrounding ambiance and reflects back to you. It should be an integral part of your face; like the shadow of your body remains with you all the time, your smile should also become a characteristic of your personality.
The joy of plants and trees is expressed in their blossoming flowers and fruits. Spring is referred to as the queen of all seasons, as it is the season of rejuvenation of Nature’s joy and beauty. It is the season of blooming smiles from the flora and fauna all around. Blooming flowers symbolize spontaneous joy and beauty. Cheerful progress is therefore termed a flourishing success. A bouquet of fresh flowers is a medium of exchange of romantic feelings among lovers, a token of respectful welcome of important guests, and a symbol of goodwill among allies. Even the sacraments of worshiping a deity are incomplete without flowers. Flowers are so important because they reflect the smile of Nature.
When one feels upbeat in moments of success, or on receiving anticipated support and favor, a smile occurs without any effort. One does not need any entertainment at these times. More challenging and precious is the self-creation of entertainment in unfavorable circumstances. The art of smiling in all circumstances makes you the winner, the master of entertaining your mind, and endows you with the key to peace and happiness. You may begin with a sort of ‘forced’ training of bringing a smile to your face, it may make you feel artificial in the initial stages, but because of its soothing impact on your body and ambiance around, and upon your social interactions, you will not take much time in getting used to it. With some practice, your mind will begin to aspire for it. A smiling face will then become your identity and will also help keep your mood tuned-up in general.
Your self-training exercise of having a permanent natural smile is interlinked and mutually supportive of your positive attitude. It will help keep your mind light and calm and thus nurture your positive attitude and sporting spirit. The latter will ensure natural generation and sustenance of inner peace and enthusiasm, of which, a smile is an automatic and innate offshoot.
Nature has gifted you with the boon of a smile, use it and generate the perennial spring of serene joy within.
Source: The Real Joy of Entertainment
