Passions, hobbies, favorite passtimes, avocations, obsessions..
Known by many names – but the feeling is the same. We have known this feeling, many times in life, when engaging in pursuits that no one forced us to, but in which we lost ourselves, we lost the track of time. We found the flow that so well evaded us when we picked up the book for that important test…We could do this all day and yet find it interesting enough to continue the next, and the next…
Somewhere down the line, between finishing our education and making a living, we all lose out on this aspect out our lives. We stop finding time, we find responsibilities that take precedence over just being, and we get so wound up in the reality of our lives that passions take a backseat, and then fade away into the back of our minds, making an occasional appearance when triggered by a visit from an old friend…
People have varying passions, but chances are most of us have been very passionate about music at some point in our early years. The kids who grew up around the 90s were probably the last of the pack, who could enjoy music with their ears and soul, without getting their attentions diverted by irritating notifications and doom scrolling. Listening to music in the pre-mobile days was a bit more tedious, given that one didn’t have streaming. Choice was limited to the cassettes (or CDs) that you had, or you could borrow from your friends, so sharing in those days was a bit more laborious.
Nowadays, it’s at the click of a button. Lossless, they say, but that’s just the quality of the music. What is lost is the attention that you pay to the songs that play – we are busy scrolling through Insta and reading messages on WhatsApp as the singer attempts to connect with you…only to be vetoed by the skip button. Two minutes is too long to give your labour of love, we say.
I am no different. Along the way, I too lost my passion for music and ended up listening to songs instead. But it’s never too late to wake up (little bunny, as Keshav says) and do something about it. I did. The first step in hopefully a re-ignited journey that rivals my reading habit in scale and depth. Technology has vastly improved from the last time I had a serious look at music, but well, that’s part of the excitement isn’t it?
So many new possibilities. So many new things to learn, to discover. And most important, so many new ways to feel music, rather than just hearing it.
Can’t wait:)