I am currently reading The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. I recently read The Hobbit. The world that Tolkien created has long been loved by readers and scholars alike. Tolkien worked with the world of Middle-earth for almost 60 years, from 1916 until he died in 1973. During that time he created languages, histories, and cultures for a variety of races that dwell in his world. His books had several editions and Tolkien’s son, Christopher, published books on Middle-earth after the death of his father. The amount of time, energy, passion, and care that went into the forming and refining of Middle-earth is mind boggling. Tolkien had a family and worked as a professor at Oxford, yet still found time to immerse himself in his books.
The passion Tolkien had for Middle-earth is evident. It also gives one reason to pause for reflection: Is there anything in my life that I am that passionate about? Honestly, no. Nothing in my life consumes me in such a way. However, I am alright with this. I have my hobbies and my pursuits, with some things I like to do and even love to do more than others.
I am not a passionate person. I am too level-headed and, at the same time, too lazy to be passionate about one thing or many things. On the one hand, I don’t see a reason, personally, to invest myself in this way. I can be enthusiastic about things and feel fulfillment from them. For example, I love aviation and flying, but there are some people who can name an airplane just by listening to the engine. They are passionate about aviation in a way that I will never be. This is where the second part of my argument comes in: I am too lazy to invest that much of my time into learning the nuances of anything.
It should be noted that I am not a lazy person. When it comes to working and my hobbies, I learn what I need to learn to be good and then I learn how to improve myself. I have taken a photography class and I work at making my art better. I experiment with my art. However, I don’t study the works of other photographers, I don’t own many lenses, and I have not pursued it as a profession. I love photography, but I do not live-eat-breathe photography.
I do believe, though, that when I have a family I will be passionate about them. My children and husband will be my world and I will immerse myself in them. I look forward to this I know that, when my time comes to be passionate, I will do well.
Goodness, I read those books in Jr High. Back then all they had was a cartoon version of The Hobbit. I like the movies but still think the books are better, I like using my imagination. I am sure you will be passionate about the right things when the time comes. It can be dangerous to get consumed by a hobby as it can pull you away from spending time with the Lord.
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