At this time of my life, I believe that one can live without love (愛情.. not love in general :P ), but not without hobbies.
What do you think of that? Do you agree or you think 玩物喪志? Or you feel the precious leisure time should be spent on real people (or pets if people are too much troubles) rather than personal pursuits? Well, I have to say I've never really been ambitious so I don't agree with 玩物喪志 - hobbies will always be the center of my life.
There are many bad hobbies though; some of them are quite addictive like drinking, gambling, and most girls would agree that online-gaming is the most damaging one if you happen to have a boyfriend/husband addicted to it.
I always have too many hobbies, recently I’ve been reviewing them and made a decision that I should concentrate on few of them only, and I would make sure they don't consume my time up to a harmful degree. I've friends who are destroyed in single one hobby/activity, as a result they can rarely care about others things/people genuinely...I would say that is rather limited and dangerous life. I think we ought to have several hobbies so we won't be sucked into only one of them. But if you were determined to become an artist, to devote all your time to beautify the whole human race, there is no other choice except to be careless of all other things/people to reach your goal. That is, however, a luxurious privilege for really talented & special people. If you're normal like me, I suggest you not to waste your life doing genius’ work.
Why is it important to develop several lifetime hobbies? A picture is worth thousand words, so I'll give you a picture: If you go to any local library in Taipei, there are always many old people reading newspapers there, doing nothing else. Just picture that! I've been interested for further investigation on this matter, so I went there to observe a few times. Regret to say that not one, not single one of them during my visits was reading a book instead. What a depressing view don’t you think? How could one's mind be satisfied with news...(either on TV or paper. I know some people could watch news ALL day.) It’s sad but it’s something to think about.
Sorry for my long blog, I always write too much. But I'd love to read others long blogs though, please also share them here :)
I'll stop now and conclude with this line: A balanced & meaningful life takes great efforts.
Jennifer Nov.27.2008 4:30pm
4 comments:
I think my schoolmates are all too shy (or too busy) to express their opinions here .... however, I received some comments from Gloria and mimi regarding my post in person. Thanks a lot to both.
Mimi said that she has many interesting hobbies...but regretfully we didn't have time to talk further. What are they I wonder? :)
Gloria said she has been thinking about getting new hobbies as she read my post. I guess I should be happy one more person chose to go down the road with me... But out of conscience I’ve to say that hobbies are dangerous, they slowly make you unable to live without them, and before you know it, your time is all gone! There! I washed my hands in innocence.
By the way, Flora also gave me nice comments about my post; I think she was the 1st to have read it because I annoyed her as soon as I posted it. :P Thanks a lot too my friend.
To all other anonymous schoolmates spent time to read it. thanks :) I guess I’ll do the posting here if I receive any further comments later.
Dear Jennifer,
sorry, my computer crash dawn,therefore I could not write comment to you immediately。speaking of hobbies, I Can write a long blog too 。
Like Many people I have many interesting hobbies , some of them have started since I was a little girl。Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies ,I started to cook when I was a little girl。I learnt it by looking at the process from the adults and recipes。Making clothes for dolls is another of my interesting hobbies,first I draw a picture and then made them.
collecting stamps is also my interesting hobbies. I collect them from different countries, because I have relatives living in different countries.
Mimi
Jennifer:
I'm glad to see you weren't deterred by the lack of comments. As you said, part of the reason may be shyness; part of the reason may be time. Since this is the first student blog, I don't believe many people are yet aware it exists. I asked Alvin to write something on his blog about it, but he's been terribly busy of late.
As for my own feelings, hobbies are absolutely essential to a full life. We, as human beings, are never better learners than when we are engaged in some activity, not out of duty, but out of love. The things we love to do enrich life with a zest unrivalled.
I'm pleased to hear you've taken up piano. To imagine my life without music is, for me, unthinkable.
Note: I've never considered "smoking" or "drinking" a hobby. They are habits, which is quite a different thing.
- Paul
Dear Mimi
Thanks for sharing. :) Wow, I think everyone is so unique; I would probably die if I have to dress up dolls. So much troubles to think what to wear everyday for myself already. But drawing and making clothes for them must take a lot of creativity, efforts, and time. What a unique hobby!
I can enjoy cooking, but only in an extremely light mood, which happens like five times a year. Stamps are beautiful and timeless, and to make a good collection requires a very neat organization and patience, that's one thing I am not capable of. It may seem odd but I prefer organizing things in my mind than physically.
To Paul:
You know in Chinese hobbies and habits are overlapping each other, 不良嗜好 means bad habits like drinking and smoking, but we still call them bad hobbies. Thanks for teaching! I'll stop considering bad habits as hobbies next time when I am trying to be in my English mode.
Yes at times, one can be so absorbed in music and willing to give up everything else without regret. The variety of different combinations of sounds and instruments shocks me every time I hear a great piece. There isn't ever enough time for all the good music, really.
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