I discovered something about myself the other evening. It gives me a kick to have a tapestry of a life rather than a literary life or a painter's life or a baker's life or gardener's life. I spend a lot of time on philanthropy in the form of helping raise money for and award scholarships, but I'm not a philanthropist...it's just a thread in the tapestry. I wonder what the weaving will look like when I'm finished?
I guess there are some days when I envy the kind of person who says to themselves, "I'm a historian" and then that is the main passion of their whole life. For one thing, if I could do that and just focus on one passion, I wouldn't have the accoutrements of so many different passions taking up storage space around the farm. I wouldn't have a spot for mosaic tiles, another for stained glass and all the tools that go with stained glass window making, another for gardening supplies, another for painting supplies, and another for cookbooks and cooking equipment and baking supplies.
I might have walls of history books, instead of walls of books on subjects like The Romans in Britain and Tea and Tea Parties, on Square Foot Gardening and Garden Structures, on Building Decks and Renovating Bathrooms, to say nothing of Just My Type (typography) and Making a Literary Life. The newest additions are on Cookies and Pies, so recipes will be coming shortly.
Fortunately I have a good sized set of storage areas and I enjoy all the different threads, including my newest plan, which is to grow seedlings to give to the local Grange folks for their spring plant sale. In the past I have grown up to a dozen different kinds of tomatoes in one year, plus three kinds of squash, a few kinds of cucumbers and a few more kinds of beans. I ended up giving a lot of seedlings away and having way too many plants, so some produce went to waste. Growing all of those seedlings for the Grange will let me try some new ones and pass along some that I know grow well here. That way I can enjoy growing all kinds of different tomato seedlings, for example, but I can just plant two or three actual tomato plants in my own garden. The rest will find homes elsewhere. Wonderful!
If you are reading this it is likely that you, too, are a tapestry sort of person since I think we tend to attract like-minded folks. What is your blend of threads? If you have one blazing passion, what is it? I know that there are a fair number of folks who read these posts, but I know little about you. Care to share?
I don't know anybody who has only one passion ... likely because, as you say, we seek out others who have a wide range of passions. You know ours - baking, knitting, travel, photography, reading.
ReplyDeleteYes, you and Tanita are wonderful examples of vivid tapestries. There is writing, too, and gardening a bit I think. The trip to Mexico looked like it was wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a well written piece and so thought provoking! I tend to be envious of those that have a passion while I can't even pinpoint one thing. This makes me rethink and maybe it isn't such a bad thing after all. I admire you for the giving and sharing you do! Thanks Pat!
ReplyDeleteLove your idea of tapestry. I've always attributed my multitude of interests to ADD. I can't focus on any one thing for too long. I'm always reading two or three books at a time, have multiple projects going at once, and a To Do list that seems endless. But each of the things I focus on adds complexity and depth to life. Sometimes I wish I could focus obsessively on only one thing and master it, but then I realize I would miss all the other parts of my life I would have to ignore.
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