Pathways to Meaning-Making Through Leisure-Like Pursuits in Global Contexts

Abstract

This paper incorporates international and multicultural perspectives on meaning- making through leisure-like pursuits, by acknowledging voices of non-western people including Asians, Middle-Easterners, Indigenous persons, Africans, and South Americans, in addition to some dominant Euro-North American perspectives. Based on a literature review and content analysis and synthesis, major pathways linking leisurelike pursuits to meaning-making are identified, specifically, their roles in facilitating: (a) positive emotions and well-being; (b) positive identities, self-esteem, and spirituality; (c) social and cultural connections and a harmony; (d) human strengths and resilience; and (e) learning and human development across the life-span. More generally, however, in people's quest for a meaningful life, the processes of meaning-making through leisure-like engagements involve both remedying the bad and enhancing the good. Achieving a more balanced understanding of leisure-like engagements and meaning-making as a global phenomenon is implied and advocated.

KEYWORDS:

• Culture
• globalization
• international
• leisure
• meaning