I’m often surprised by how few people I meet with hobbies, and passions. That’s not to say I don’t meet many people with interests – I do. And it’s always refreshing.
I’ve been a man with many passions - writing music, poetry, short stories and other creative endeavours has always been my thing. I have an unquenchable thirst to create, to express and to excel at doing so.
On the other hand, I can’t stand sport. I absolutely hate ‘feeling the burn’ and I never ever exercise. I do enjoy playing football, but I rarely get the time to. I have to balance work, my passions and my personal life otherwise all will suffer. I’m a firm believer balance and if you’re ticking the boxes on all fronts, you’ll reach an almost nirvana like state of satisfaction.
So, sorry sport – there’s just no time.
I do meet sports enthusiasts, those who throw themselves into tackles and touchdowns with childlike glee. Some live and breathe sport. While I may not relate on a topical level, I can relate to that passion – and I respect it. Sport requires a completely different skill set from the arts, but both require discipline, perspective and ambition.
Then there’s mountain climbers, adventurers, travellers, charity volunteers – all sorts of people with passions. There are people out there with myriad obscure, fascinating, colourful, wonderful passions. I bet there’s people out there passionate about passion fruit, and passionate about passion-themed fashion. I really do meet a lot. And it always inspires me to be even more devoted to my own work.
Then you have hobbies – when I’m on my own and need to kill some time I like to watch films. I’m a huge film geek. Other than that, I like very particular video games and a few post-Sopranos TV shows. But those things come last for me.
For every person I meet with passions, I seem to meet 10 times more without. I find it so strange. Even friends of mine who don’t write or play music have a point of view on it, at least. But other people I meet don’t care either way. They just go to work, go home, have their social life, exist and sleep.
If that’s fulfilling for them – fair enough. Maybe their relationships, or their work, are their passions. I can't knock that.
But can anyone truly live a rich life without even one passion? Without that one thing they wish they could be the best in the world at?
I, for one, couldn’t.
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