or a stressful moment, we can sit down to our knitting, sewing, or train set and let go of the day. Our interest gives us a social outlet. We can find and hang out with people who share our pet projects. Exchange ideas. Have fun.
They keep us learning, exploring, entertained, and, on some level, happy. Some experts say the key to a balanced life is spending at least five hours a week as a kid again, doing what you enjoy. This is where our downtime fun comes in. We take road trips to quilt shops and yarn crawls. We can get together for book reviews, crocheting, or biking weekends. Who doesn’t love a good model airplane show? Let's not forget the outdoors, archery, hiking, and boating—gardeners with tons of plants of all varieties and how to keep them alive over winter.
All of our creative whims have a few things in common: We enjoy them. These distractions can be a way to avoid doing things we don't like and provide a way out of the mundane. Most importantly, it brings joy, purpose, and a sense of accomplishment to our lives. Our hobbies are stress relief. They keep us active, young, exploring, and motivated: I can return to my sewing project if I do the dishes. Once the car is washed, I can figure out my new locomotive. If I finish this project at work, the bonus will be paid for a new model airplane.
On the downside, we spend way too much money on them. They take up space and add clutter to our house. We all have forgotten about leisure pursuits shoved in the back of the closet, in the bin in the basement, or someplace else that we never look at and can't find. They keep piling up and what was loved becomes another chore or another thing to deal with. We can't eliminate the old hobby, even if no interest exists. Maybe someday, it could become relevant again. eBay is full of people getting rid of someone else's hobbies. We are always looking for new entertainment, with new things to do, learn, and participate in.
How many hobbies and side projects are
necessary? Once you master knitting, try crocheting. How much yarn can you use
in a lifetime? Amazingly, you taught yourself how to make beautiful clothing.
You've even made quilts for everyone in your family and for every piece of
furniture in your house. You have an
entire room full of beautiful fabric you can't seem to get rid of. Let's remember
the sewing machines, straight stitching, the long arm for quilting, and the one
for embroidery patterns.
I’ll read just this one book, and another one, and another one. How many bookcases of books does one need? Do you keep the books or donate them? You enjoy them and want to save them, but will you ever read them again? Still, though, I could add a shelf here and the sewing table there and keep my collection growing.
There’s this cool watercolor glass I found online. I can learn how to paint. But I need to get the paint, brushes, and special this and that. What about oil paint? More brushes: I will require a different easel for the living room, and I wanted to take it outside. I need several different canvases. Who knows what size I'll need for the inspiration I have tomorrow? There is an intermediate class I could take after the class. There's a group that meets on Tuesdays. We could all paint together if I had a traveling easel. Of course, I need more brushes, another pallet of paper and the local frame store to frame them all. Oh, and sign up for the Intro to Painting class.
Our hobbies start small and simple.
The more we get into them, the more they grow. We hope to grow with them, learn
more about our world and ourselves, and become better people. However, we must
be mindful of our hobbies taking over us and causing stress. It's okay to have
lots of hobbies, and it’s okay to eBay the bin of crafts we are never going to
use again. Have fun, and find joy.
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