 | RECREATIONBYVISCOUNT GREY OF FALLODON, K.G. BOSTON AND NEW YORK COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Riverside Press ADDRESS DELIVERED ATTHE HARVARD UNIONDECEMBER 8, 1919 |
It is sometimes said that this is a pleasure-seekingage. Whether it be a pleasure-seekingage or not, I doubt whether itis a pleasure-finding age. We are supposedto have great advantages in many waysover our predecessors. There is, on thewhole, less poverty and more wealth. Thereare supposed to be more opportunities forenjoyment: there are moving pictures,motor-cars, and many other things whichare now considered means of enjoymentand which our ancestors did not possess,but I do not judge from what I read in thenewspapers that there is more content. Indeed,we seem to be living in an age of discontent.It seems to be rather on the increasethan otherwise and is a subject of generalcomplaint. If so it is worth while consideringwhat it is that makes people happy,[Pg 4]what they can do to make themselveshappy, and it is from that point of viewthat I wish to speak on recreation.
Let it be admitted that recreation is onlyone of the things that make for happinessin life. I do not even recommend it as themost important. There are at least fourother things which are more or less underour own control and which are essential tohappiness. The first is some moral standardby which to guide our actions. The secondis some satisfactory home life in the form ofgood relations with family or friends. Thethird is some form of work which justifiesour existence to our own country and makesus good citizens. The fourth thing is somedegree of leisure and the use of it in someway that makes us happy. To succeed inmaking a good use of our leisure will notcompensate for failure in any one of theother three things to which I have referred,but a reasonable amount of leisure and a[Pg 5]good use of it is an important contributionto a happy life. How is this happy use of leisureto be ensured? We sometimes meetpeople who do not seem to know what to dowith their spare time. They are like the manof whom it was said, "He doesn't knowwhat he wants, and he won't be happy tillhe gets it." The first thing, therefore, is totake ourselves out of that category, to knowdefinitely what we want, and to make sure itis something that will make us happy whenwe get it; and that is the beginning ofrecreation. You are entitled to say to me,"That is all very well as a general piece ofadvice, but tell us how you have followedand applied it yourself"; and it would notbe fair for me to shrink from answeringthat question. In one respect I must pleadfailure. I have been a failure as regards golf,not because I did not succeed, but becauseI did not want to su