What is YOUR passion

[Jackie C.]

Role-Playing Game. You grab a bunch of friends and tell a co-operative story using dice to judge success/failure and move the plot forward.

 

Hugs!

[Heather Shay]

that sounds like a lot of fun.... maybe the next time my step-son comes with his girl friend we can try - he is until doing this kind of thing and probably does it already....thanks....

[AmberM]

@Jackie C. I used to write campaigns for D&D. I lost my way I feel, it is something I have interest in picking up again, I even picked up a set of core rules for v5 I think it was. Now I just need to come up with a story arc and then get a group together.

[Robin]

One of my hobbies is collecting vintage vacuum cleaners. I have more than 100 in total, dating from the 1920s to the 1980s. Here is a picture of part of my collection.

 

 

 

Robin.

[Heather Shay]

THAT is totally cool. I know Tom Hanks collects typewriters and Jim Fox (drummer in the James Gange with Joe Walsh) collects car license plates - but this beats them and is so cooool. 

[Jani]

@Robin  You've mentioned that previously.  Thanks for the photo, so cool.  I understand Geddy Lee is a big collector of Negro League Baseball memorabilia.  Neil Young is into train sets. I remember when he joined a group to buy Lionel when they were in trouble years ago.  

[Bri2020]

Scuba and specifically underwater photography.  If I could live underwater I would. My long term plan is to get to the point where I can spend 6 months a year in Bonaire do it.  

[Ivy]

I like to write.  Sometimes stories, sometimes poems.

Lately being stuck at home by myself I've been kinda depressed, and it's surprisingly hard to get motivated.  That seems weird considering I have lots of time on my hands.  But I've been trying to do better with mixed results.

[Heather Shay]

@Jandi writing is a creative art that is generally done alone. May I suggest warming up with music you love or look up websites that publish Good news stories and turn off the world outside and enjoy your inside. Not every song I write is good but just the practice is enjoyable. Remember all great writers will say...if you want to be a writer then you have to write...that is how you get better. Perhaps check in on Coursera it is free and wonderful courses to help more knowledge to your ideas. My favorite is Pat Pattison at Berklee he as a great course on poetry and lyric?writing. Although I have written for over 45 years he gave me some concepts I had not heard before and I have added them to my writing tool kit.

[Tori M]

On 8/9/2020 at 12:55 PM, KathyLauren said:

 

 

Yes, it is a fancy astronomy camera that is attached to my telescope.  The whole thing is protected under a dome.  A computer runs the whole show while I sleep.

 

 

WOW, now that's passion!!

[Tori M]

6 hours ago, Robin said:

One of my hobbies is collecting vintage vacuum cleaners. I have more than 100 in total, dating from the 1920s to the 1980s. Here is a picture of part of my collection.

 

 

 

Robin.

 

I find that an unusual but very intriguing hobby!  The first time I heard of it was a boy guesting on a TV talk show (was it Ellen?  Leno??).  They're interesting machines that transformed the American home and housework.  I once sold Rainbows and got to see one of the very early models.... all steel and weighed a TON.  No more nerdy than my fascination with bridges, lol❣️

[Heather Shay]

If my Chautauqua Series is able to?start up again after Clovis there is a girl who plans to do a program on the American home appliances from the 1950s 1960s and 1970s. For those not familiar?with Chautauquas they are first person living history where the presenter is usually a well known person and you learn so much more about that person. This girl would be a generic housewife. We have had usually 2 a month every month for 14 years until covid came. We do it as a donation basis and have musicians open with period music. We have a wide range of people from George Washington to robin Williams Tecumseh to sacagawea. Jesse James to rosemary Clooney carry nation to general Dwight eisenhower Beethoven to solar schlindler Laura singles wilder to Walt Whitman. Sorry I miss these shows they are fun and enjoyable.

[Tori M]

I think some of you already know my fascination with nature, but my main passion now is birds.  Not just feeding or watching them, but "chasing" them and, most interesting, learning as much as I can about their lives.  This started in 2014 and at one point I was spending almost every waking moment watching, reading or chasing them.  Chasing means traveling miles and hours to catch sight of a rarity or exploring environs different than our own neighborhood to find different species.  Lately, I am less obsessed and haven't traveled as much but it's not unusual for me to load up the car with binoculars, scopes and cameras and spend the whole day driving around looking for great sightings.

In the east, birding is largely a summer sport but to my total surprise, here on the west coast it's a year-round venture.  Yes, the birds fly south, but there's a whole different batch that summer in Canada and the Arctic that also fly south.... to here!  So, in the summertime, birding is about migrating songbirds, but in the winter there are millions of waterfowl and sparrows here.  It's a funtastic hobby and I'm always [too] eager to answer questions and educate, lol.  I'm not an expert but I've crammed a lot of learning into a few short years.

 

Sandhill crane w/cygnet (not my photo) Sandhill cranes have been around for at least 2.5 million years

[Heather Shay]

@Tori M did you see the guy and his wife on CBS Sunday Morning who photographs and paints birds. You are probably familiar with him. I appreciate your passion. And love the photo you posted.

[DeeDee]

I love this thread, but found it harder to answer than I thought Shay. Possibly because over the years my ex made me choose between my passions and her, and I always chose her. ?

 

My biggest passion first and foremost is for my kids and family. ? My children are amazing and I love them to bits. I also have 4 sisters fairly close in age and regularly think we are unknowingly starring in some unscripted black comedy due to the almost constant drama in our lives.

 

Outside of that my position as a Christian minister and the privilege that my faith enables me to help others through some of the best and worst times of their lives.(This is very personal to me, but happy to chat privately if folks are curious about it)

 

D&D - getting together in person or online and being part of a creative story where almost anything can and will happen. So much fun!

 

Ultimate frisbee - though I haven't played in over a decade I still deeply love the sport and throwing a disc around with my friends. I never go anywhere without a disc in the car, just in case...

 

Swimming - Whether it's in the sea, a river, or a loch I cannot wait to get wet once I discover somewhere with open water. It may be cold when you dive in, but once you're acclimatised nothing beats it for me and I always feel amazing afterwards.

 

At the bottom I would actually place my most common hobbies: gaming, reading and binge watching films, TV and YT Series - I do them for escape and some introverted social connection but am not really passionate about them specifically but I certainly wouldn't want my life without them.

 

 

[Cyndee]

1 hour ago, DeeDee said:

Ultimate frisbee - though I haven't played in over a decade I still deeply love the sport and throwing a disc around with my friends. I never go anywhere without a disc in the car, just in case...

 

 

 

me 2

 

  I love frisbee Dee, and also keep several discs here. Nothing as fun as frisbee disc tossing with friends at the beach, a lovely pastime. I'll gladly toss it with you sometime

 

Hugs

 

Cyndee

 

 

[tracy_j]

Mine is probably making things or growing them. The creation of new ideas and things or growing plants and seeing them thrive.

 

Tracy

[Heather Shay]

Thank you for sharing. Every single passion is amazing and I am so happy each of you recognize your passion and nurture it. I think it is especially necessary for us to help us in our particular journeys we have been given. They are our oases.

 

@DeeDee I felt such a common feeling with your first paragraph in particular. My first wife thought she could live with my music passion and said she couldn't I blamed me and tried to stop my music passion to save our marriage. Didn't work and also nearly cost me my life.

[Robin]

Sadly, the concept of having hobbies and interests is often viewed in a very negative way.  They are often seen as a way of avoiding responsibilities, or as a substitute for having friends or a partner.  Any type of collecting is considered to be the same as hoarding.

 

People that are not interested in anything cannot understand why anyone else should have interests.  Unfortunately, women tend to be worse than men for this.  The reason for that could be because a women often has to look after the home and children, and get the husband's meal ready, while he is enjoying his hobby.  This may be an example of the dreaded stereotypical gender roles.

 

Robin.

[Heather Shay]

Women do tend to be caregivers - but even caregivers need to be nourished and to be passionate about something needs to be continually encouraged not only in women but men as well. Passion and collecting and creating are to food for the soul.

[Elizabeth Star]

I've found myself rethinking my hobbies. I feel a lot of my little projects were nothing more than distractions. I didn't want to come to terms with who I am so I found things to do that I could/would never finish. I have a jacket I had been putting chain mail on, taking off, re-arranging, staring at, remaking over an over for literally 20 years (it wasn't the only thing I made though). I kept telling myself "it's art, it's never done". Than in July, 3 years ago, Around the time I finished it my whole world started to change. I realized I had spent a lifetime sitting at a table with tools in my hands, drinking coffee and not actually living as myself.

I just needed to get that out.

[Jani]

@ElizabethStar I can relate to what you're saying.  Sometimes we do things just to go through the motions as if that makes us feel better.  Sometimes it does but other times we're hiding behind the activity when we might prefer something else.  That you've done something for a long time doesn't mean you have to continue.  Life is about evolving and trying to reach the point where we are totally happy.  

[Jackie C.]

49 minutes ago, ElizabethStar said:

I kept telling myself "it's art, it's never done". Than in July, 3 years ago, Around the time I finished it my whole world started to change. I realized I had spent a lifetime sitting at a table with tools in my hands, drinking coffee and not actually living as myself.

 

I really want to see a picture of that jacket now though...

 

Hugs!

[Heather Shay]

@ElizabethStar - I understand and used to run constantly to get away from me and I remember asking God to just erase my existence (I was too chicken to kill myself - but running and getting down to 98 pounds on a 5' 10" frame is not a pretty site). When I realized how important feeling good about myself, the music eased back into my life and has been an important "Passion" and "Healer" in my life. And I too would absolutely love to see the jacket if you still have it.

Shay

[Elizabeth Star]

@Jackie C. Here ya go.

 

I just notice how much I've changed.