What is recreation?

I've been contemplating recreation lately, and it seems to me to be several things at once.

At it's essence recreation is:

"any act which creates a sense of refreshment of self".

So work may be recreation of a special kind, because it can involve pushing through resistance to get to joy on the other side, but only if it is accompanied with rest afterwards!

And play may be recreate as well, but only if it involves some kind of challenge which brings out good qualities in yourself - such as tennis, wrestling, chess, or just running with a mate.

Essentially it boils down to living with the questions:

"What would best create a sense of self-refreshment for me right now?"

And more significantly:

"How do I order my life so that I create a freshness of self in every moment, just naturally as part of who I am?"