A Hobby Is Born (December 2008).
...............................................................
If one is asked to name a hobby, an assortment of physical activities and creative expression is usually listed. One may say I enjoy playing a sport A, B, or C. Another may have an inclination more towards absorbing knowledge in all its forms - a time spent by reading incessantly. There are those who enjoy the process of writing or partaking in a creative process of self-expression. Then, there are others who take delight in the social interactions arising form communal activities.
..............................................................
I am hit by the sudden realization that there is actually not a defining hobby that I have consistently partook in. That is not to say I do not enjoy the less-than-frequent sport outtings or reading for pleasure or the togetherness and belonging arising from bonding with friends and family around one type of activity or another. It is the recognition that there has been an absence of a thread connecting through all these activities. It is the discovery that there was not undeterred continuity or periodicity to these activities; a lack of continuum of evolution and growth.
..............................................................
It is in this context that I started pouring in my self-expressions, either by writing about a given topic, drawing, or gathering pieces of information of interest, into these pages... I am learning there is a sense of liberation in the ability to pull in numerous sources of knowledge, digest and store them with remarkable ease of access and connectivity. There is also a sense of joy, and I must say an addictive quality, to the process of seeking for information and learning; a momentary excitement of discovery. It almost feels like a sleeping giant has been awakened and is actively thirsting for knowledge. This, I must say, is a remarkable transformation in my thinking about education.
..............................................................
I have reached this point after having spent decades, from childhood to adulthood, in the world of structured learning environment guided by the immediate need to complete a homework/task or pass an examination. Absent that structure, one is suddenly confronted with the the unbounded nature of knowledge and the lack of framework for absorbing it. I think learning is, fundamentally and at the truest form, a process of absorbing, digesting, and expressing. This medium has provided for engaging in these processes in unison. It is the process of active reading, synthesizing of information, and writing that provides the venue for sustained learning; the framework for organizing thoughts and relevant information. Here, in these pages, I think, a hobby is born. Born to the pent up craving for freelance learning and expression. The mind is awakened and is wanting to absorb. No more puzzlement as to what my hobby is. I have discovered it is learning and, to be exact, blogging.
