melissel Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 We moms were talking about this at a birthday party the other day, and I've been thinking about it for awhile on my own. When the kids were finally old enough that I could get some time to myself, I realized that I just don't have anything I particularly want to DO. I could go sit at B&N and flip through magazines, but I don't want to encourage myself to shop for fun (even for books :lol:). I've thought about taking up knitting or scrapbooking, but I'm not particularly creative, and those kinds of things just don't appeal to me. I'm not sporty, so sports don't particularly appeal to me. I realized I really have no passion for anything outside caring for my family and HSing right now. So I've been thinking about the nature of a hobby or passion. Is it odd that I don't have one? Do most people have a passion? Do you think everyone should have one? How does one develop one? Honestly, I'd really like for my kids to see me passionate about something in life, but nothing really moves me. What do you think? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 How's that for a non-answer? :lol: I like to sew. More accurately I *need* to sew. It's my distraction/relaxation/creative outlet. If it's been a while, I can feel my mental stability slipping. It's cheaper than therapy. :tongue_smilie: Maybe you just haven't found your passion yet. It means you still have that to look forward to someday. Maybe when it's the right time, something will suddenly appeal to you. :001_smile: ETA: Did you have a hobby as a kid? Even collecting things can be a hobby (rocks, stamps etc.) It does not need to be a handicraft. Do you maybe enjoy writing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Jenny Flint Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 is yoga. I feel everything going out of balance when I haven't made the time to do some yoga each day. I also really like to get out and walk with the kids for 15-30 minutes each day. These things help get me through the day. I love home schooling, and that takes a ton of my time. I love to read. I love to bake. There are other things I enjoy, but they haven't carved themselves into my schedule the way these things have. I am finding that the things I thought I was passionate about are not the same things I have carved out time to do... so they are not my true passions... but I do have some passions, nonetheless. They are just surprises, even to me. What do you make time to do? That is what you are passionate about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 languages and linguistics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Oh, yes, I have obsessions...er, passions. ;) I always have...some change as you grow older (or up. I'm not sure which one to put there.) For example, I was born loving horses. I still love horses, would love to own a vast and profitable horse ranch, but the realitiy is my sweet old mare died and I don't have the heart to fall in love with another. So I love them, but I'm not doing horses anymore. I'm a passionate gardener...love to dig in the dirt, talk, read and write about plants, visit garden centers and botanic gardens all over, and most of all, stop and smell my roses. I 'heart' flowers. :D I love anything to do with creativity...I love photography (I was a pro for two decades of my life) writing, quilting, stained glass, and more. I love the creative process and the people it involves. I love reading about creativity and blogging about it. If I only had to pick one passionate endeavor, it would be creativity because it encompasses so many other elements. I love, love, love books. Ideas and stories! Enough said. I love European travel...which has led to a love of good food, history, and languages. Yep, I have much to keep me occupied. Try something new each month if you want to find something to do...or just be still and let a passion well up inside you. It will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarawatsonim Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 History, primarily the middle ages. I don't like sports, I am not overly creative and I am an introvert, but the one thing that makes my heart flutter is history. I went to school to become a museum curator, but that hasn't worked out (our city doesn't have a museum). If I had the opportunity to travel, I would probably say that was a passion as well. Travel would tie in with history though, since the places I want to see are for historical reasons. I plan on learning languages along with my daughter, to use when we travel (wishful thinking) to satisfy my history needs ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Q Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Writing! And, more recently (the last six months), playing the piano. I've always thought it a good idea for women to have interests outside of their children. After all, kids grow up and leave home to pursue their own lives. I don't want to be left feeling useless and empty-handed when my youngest goes off to college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Oh, man... I am NEVER bored. There are so many things that I would love to do but never have the time - reading, studying family history, studying history in general (i.e. going back to school), learning new languages, cross-stitching. I'll never get it all done! I'd love to go back to being in the local community band, too. The only thing that I do get done is the gardening, homeschool, "being a mom," and work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooketopia Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 I totally know what you mean! I've been pondering on this for the past couple of weeks myself. I just finished reading Julia Child's memoir and it was so neat to see someone with such passion for something...and I wonder if my life would be "better" if I had such a passion for anything. I love my family, I take care of them and I have a wide range of hobbies, but nothing that makes me eyes widen and my heart race faster when I think about it. I like to read because it's nice to have the solitude and to experience something else, I like to learn about things just because it's neat to learn about other stuff. But nothing that I could point to and definitively say I'm passionate about. That's just how I've always been. Not that "lacking" that sort of passion makes my life awful...it's fine the way it is...but I do envy the people who have the full-fledged passionate attachment to something. I wonder what it would be like to have that passion for something...I truly do. But seriously, I have no idea how I'd fit something else into my life as it is! I'm too busy with just living! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Right now my passion is Cake Decorating. I'm taking the Wilton classes with my daughters and we are all making really fun creations. This last summer, my passion was amigurumi. I like to try new things! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 I think food, and food history particularly, is the "funnest" thing in the whole world! I also love to read, explore new ideas, and inflict them on whoever is nearby and willing to listen, heheh. It may not be a specific activity like gardening or cake decorating that gives you a buzz. It might be learning new things or tasting new tastes. Anyway, look on the bright side. You aren't going to be in anyone's bad books for being too boisterous. Apparently exceeding certain levels of enthusiasm is socially inappropriate. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 I do now, but it's taken years to find them: artisan bread baking and Bible/theology. What a combo...well, I guess the Word of God is the Bread of Life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 I used to. I'm trying to get back into one of them. This one handed thing sucks, and causes me to be depressed when something I enjoyed before, would enjoy now, causes me frustration and pain. There's not much I enjoy anymore, honestly. *shrugs* And yes, I realize that's a sign of depression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Travel and books. I am also weird in that I love to drive. I have stuck my passion for travel and driving into my children's swimming. They go nicely together.:001_smile: I have had to put aside my books since I had children. I have trouble with reading and functioning as a mother. When I read, I become totally absorbed and do NOTHING else. Doesn't go well with kids.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I realized I really have no passion for anything outside caring for my family and HSing right now. That is 100% ME, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I have several. I love baking, books, and photography! And a new love of mine is running! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Aside from family? My horses and my flower garden. Sorta disappointing but there it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Photo retouching and restoration. I wish I had more time for it, but I know that will come as the boys become more independent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 So I've been thinking about the nature of a hobby or passion. Is it odd that I don't have one? Do most people have a passion? Do you think everyone should have one? How does one develop one? Honestly, I'd really like for my kids to see me passionate about something in life, but nothing really moves me. What do you think? TIA! I think it's a multi-point question. In general, I think passions can be a double-edged sword. If you feel you have an appropriate amount of time/resources to dedicate to your passion - fabulous. If not, due to ... maybe a marriage, children, finances, or any other limitation ... then passions can be a downfall of sorts. It's something you've come to NEED or to want-to-the-point-of-need-for-sanity's-sake but aren't able to fulfill, and therein lies the problem. Specific to you - no, I don't think it's odd to not have a passion du jour :) I think sometimes we naturally make children and families our passion, especially when they are new or young. Sometimes we fold them INTO our passion - such as with homeschooling or photography or active roles in their extracurriculars. I think most folks have a passion, to varying degrees at different points in their respective lives. I think one develops a passion by branching out beyond familiarity and embracing something new - an experience, or activity. It seems that part of the passion is ignited in the thrill of accomplishing something new OR out of our realm of normal. I think to find one's passion, one should think about the things he or she most enjoys. The things that allow him to enter "flow" (read a bit about that HERE) which is a state of mind that parallels no other - that's what you need to isolate, to find your passion :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurad1125 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I need music in my life the way I need food. (OK, that's a bit of an exageration, but you get the point) My emotional health depends on me getting some musical outlet. Just ask my dh and sons. :D My main instrument is cello and I'm currently playing in a community orchestra which I adore. But at other times the passion has come out through playing the flute, studying music theory, dance classes, etc. For me, it's the emotional connection with the music that I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Vocational: helping women and families Recreational: texas hold em, mostly tournament right now Yes, I believe that it's important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Teaching is one of my passions. So is curriculum. Recently I've expanded to teaching other people's children on Sundays at church. I can only take teaching other people's children passionately for 1 hour a week! Music - I love to sing (was a vocal major at one point and actually studied opera for a time with a local opera singer). I'm not singing at even close to a professional level anymore but I do love to lead music, sing in the praise team and teach my church kids with music. I would love to have gardening as a passion but I always find an excuse to avoid it! So I guess it isn't. . . I do have an extensive stamp collection that I'd love to work on again but that will be for a later day in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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