Created: Monday, ‎October ‎07, ‎2013

 

But If Only

By

Robert Andrew Quaife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I talk to people about a hobby I enjoy and ask if they would ever like to pursue it, they often say it’s too hard or that they couldn’t imagine themselves going back to school to learn it. After taking a Scuba class, my instructor told me a story about one of his friends. She asked what he, my instructor, did for a living, and he replied, “Scuba diving instructor.” She was very interested and told him how much she wanted to Scuba dive.But when the instructor asked, “Why don’t you get certified?” She reluctantly answered that she didn’t have time and couldn’t imagine diving in the open ocean with sharks. .Even though she was enthused about Scuba, her contradicting rational stood in her way. She let a passion go unfulfilled because of fear and busyness.

 

To many people, the hobby they’re interested sits at the top of the mountain, while they’re at the bottom—toomuch of a climb to even think about pursuing. If we would only take that first step, make time in our busy schedule, ignore the fear of failing, we would find that it’s not as hard as we expected—in fact, it’s enjoyable and satisfying.

 

The Hardest Step is the First

When is ‘sometime’ now? How many years go by when ‘sometime’ becomes five years ago? Fulfilling one passion can give a whole different dimension to life. It makes life worth living, and it can open us up to new ways of thinking. The cost of allowing a passion to slip under our noses is too high.

 

Many people let unnecessary fear blind them to the underlying truth that the hardest step in pursuing a dream is the first. I cannot begin to explain how many people I have encountered that say they can’t see themselves a computer programmer. It’s the same reaction when it comes to auto mechanics.People look under the hood of a car and just scream. When beginners look at a computer, they see a steep mountain of spaghetti wires, big metal things and a mishmash of programming characters that all lead to the terrifying top. Our imaginations, coupled with irrational fear, flood us with thoughts of what we can’t do.It’s overwhelming. we would take the first step by signing up for a class, we often would find a sense of relief, along with enthusiasm. Think of opening up the hood of a car, and imagine ourselves trying to learn auto mechanics. Some of us would see a headache and think of all the things we would have to do to become a mechanic.If we imagine starting a class and trying to do all the homework for the semester, we will be overwhelmed. But if we focus on the fact that we have a full semester to finish the work, we will become more confident. Our fearful thinking about trying to become an auto mechanic is like thinking we have to finish all the homework for the semester in a week—or even a day. We have to take the load step-by-step. If we would make the first step and focus on facts not fears, we could bring a whole new dimension to our life that we would never have explored.

 

Make Time in our Busy Schedule:

Too often people seem to pass by a dream so they don’t disturb their busy schedules. When I image the thoughts of someone who committed suicide, I see a person with manic fearful thoughts, along with tunnel vision, who can’t see himself living with the pain. He needs something he’s passionate about to help heal his soul. Black Sabbath sings a song titled “Paranoid” that says happiness is not real. They have found that the high life of drugs, women and fame don’t satisfy the soul in the end.

 

It’s often the same story with retirement. While most people look forward to retiring, doing nothing becomes boring. Retirees who grow dim because of boredom, or worst yet suicide victims who end their lives because they think there’s nothing left to hold on to, pay a high price.

 

People too often live in the busy ‘now’ instead of taking steps to pursue passions that would last a lifetime. Missing the opportunity to go after a hobby we love because of our busy schedule is too much to lose. One of our priorities should be to go after the challenging things that would bring us joy in life. We can close the doors on a dull retirement or prevent a tragic suicide by pursuing passions that draw us to do better in our daily activities by making life exciting to us. In my experience, taking a different perspective in thinking has made me want to learn more about many subjects and to live more. Learning different hobbies is always enjoyable to me. If I get frustrated or tired of one, I can always turn to the other as seasons of interest go by. Pursuing hobbies that interest us gives meaning to life in the now and in the future.

 

Ignore the Ego:

            I often wonder if some people don’t strive for something because of pride or fear of failing. The world seems to live on pride.  Our culture looks up to foolish idols, such as the heroics in movie clips that in reality are all staged. The Bible says, “A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.” (Proverbs 29:23). Failing builds character and endurance, allowing us to conquer tougher challenges in the future.  In contrast, pride closes the doors to improvement for the simple reasons of being self-centered or stuck up.

 

I wonder if some adults over 40 don’t go back to school because of pride. They contemplate that school is for the younger generation, and they don’t want to partake in something like computer programming because of the embarrassment of doing so.  It is interesting that they allow pride to direct their future away from something they would enjoy or allow fear of failing to direct their path. If people could only realize that trying to accomplish something won’t hurt—even if they do fail. As scripture says, “The humble spirit will retain honor.” I also believe that the humble are more apt to learn.  Truly, the embarrassment of going back to school or the fear of having to fight against failing, is just a mirage.  If we could only humble ourselves or overcome our shame, what we would gain would be far more than what we will lose by not trying.

 

If we put a foot in the water, make time, ignore our embarrassment and be content with the possibility of failing, we would find that it’s not as hard as we expected—and even enjoyable. Life is too short to let small things hinder us from seeking an interesting hobby. People learning new hobbies may be the primary medicine to cure our American culture’s drastically increasing suicide rate. The most innovative and successful nation is not the one that relies on people single-minded enough to become good at only one subject.It is the one that encourages the development of its people’s many diverse strengths and passions to grow its economy and infrastructure, its arts and culture, health and social well-being.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

 

 

Black Sabbath

                NEC Arena, 1997. Reunion(Live)

 

The Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson.

               Thomas Nelson Inc. Nashville, Dallas, Mexico City, Rio De Janeiro, 2006. New King James Version.

 

Wugange, Baron. Cool Cars 5100 Hd Wallpapers. 2013. wugange.com.

                Web. 25 Sep. 2013.