Recreation is the effective and often creative use of leisure time.
It is what people do when they stop being slaves to survival and begin to do what they want to do. But it is limiting to think of recreation as a collection of activities. Instead, recreation is an attitude towards living as well as a state of mind. The recreation activity itself is only the vehicle that the professional must use in order to reach desired goals and needs that are wanted by people. The attempt to satisfy identifiable human needs is the main thrust of recreation programming.