Aug 15, 2017
By Janet Ready, Instructor
At BCRPA Symposium in April, I went to Kevin Pike’s session and something he said stuck with me… I still haven’t totally figured it out…..but I know it’s important in recreation.
He said the peripheral things in recreation can be the most important. Parents watching their kids at soccer, swimming lessons, gymnastics -- building friendships and creating community. People meeting each other in registration line-ups…opportunities to build community on the edges of the main event.
Parks and Recreation Centres are “bumping” zones – where people from different areas of life can bump into each other – where the community connects.
What if we look at what’s happening – or could happen in the periphery, the mundane – to encourage connection in our community?
I am trying to exercise this new perspective in my comings and goings this summer – to focus on exploring the mundane and what is happening on the periphery. It has been really interesting. I see a whole lot more value in the mundane that I missed before by just not paying attention.
Brene Brown said, “Joy comes to us in ordinary moments. We risk missing out when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary”. There is a human-ness to the mundane, the ordinary moments – that opens us to connections and to creating community.
In the Dictionary of Concepts in Recreation and Leisure Studies, Smith says, “…the application of community development methods to recreation and leisure services is based on the philosophy that recreation is more than just the provision of programs and the operation of facilities. Recreation is seen as a social movement that helps build community.”
If our goal in recreation is to encourage connection in our community. Then seeing value in the mundane may be a perspective shift that helps.