Surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
— George Carlin-American standup comedian, author, actor, social critic. 1937-2008.
It was morning and fairly cool but before the day was over temperatures would rise to almost ninety degrees. The grass had been mowed and flowers scattered about in pots, window boxes, and flowerbeds were in full bloom. There on the porch admiring the view, I thought back to more than a year ago when days were filled with work, errands, chores and other commitments. As COVID slowed everything down I slowed down as well. Back in the busy days I would lament I had no hobbies. I envied those who did. If I were to have a hobby, I wasn’t sure what it would be. With slow days and warm weather perhaps there’s time to cultivate a hobby or two. The internet defines a hobby:
A hobby is a regular activity done for enjoyment, typically during one’s leisure time. Hobbies can include collections of themed items, engaging in artistic and creative activities. A hobby is something which resists your mind to look at the clock every second minute. When it comes to a hobby, it’s a good habit for everybody. Hobbies make everyone busy in their free time.
A hobby is not always a time filler, it has to be something which makes you feel excited and look forward to the next time you’ll be doing it. A hobby is a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation, engaged in especially for relaxation. The Cambridge English Dictionary says a hobby is an activity that someone does for pleasure when they are not working.
I stumbled on “101 Hobbies to start in 2021,” at the website localadventurer.com. Goals were listed as “Be grateful for whatever circumstances we find our lives in. To see our hometown, state, country with fresh eyes. To be open to new experiences and take baby steps outside our comfort zone.”
This all sounded good though “outside our comfort zone” made me cringe a little. Personally, I’m pretty attached to my comfort zone. Local Adventurer was founded by Esther and her husband Jacob. It made me feel a little better when Esther described herself once as being “indoorsy.” Now her hobbies include hiking and “bouldering.” Bouldering is a form of rock climbing without ropes or harnesses. While I am more of an “outdoorsy” person than an indoorsy person, I find my own yard to be an adventure. Many of my former chores are hobbies now that I have time to enjoy them like my garden, flowers, arranging flowers, my cats, the ducks, rabbits, and ten new goldfish and photographing, posting, and adding quotes or song lyrics. Pretty tame in light of bouldering.
Jacob says hobbies come with their own benefits: playing, relaxing, sharpening the mind, personal growth, enrichment, emotional health, better physical health, also learning a skill, socializing, making new friends, maybe making extra money or creating a bucket list.
Chances are there are hobbies you may not have known: Guesstures, COSplaying, mixology, food styling, latte art, beatboxing, road tripping, parkour, glamping, and canyoneering. What’s on your bucket list?
Shannon Rule Bardwell is a writer, who lives in the Prairie. Her e-mail is [email protected].
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