I know too many people whose lives seem basically pointless. Basically they go to work, come home and do required chores, then spend a few hours sitting in front of the television until they get tired and go to sleep, after which they start the whole cycle over again the next day. Weekends are a combination of chores and more mindless television watching.

To me, one of the greatest joys in life–beyond the obvious joys of family and friends–is having some passion other than one’s job and obligations. My passion is reading and writing, so much so that I almost never sit in front of the television, preferring to either write on the computer or relax with a good book. Jean is a craft person, usually building or decorating or repairing something or, weather permitting, gardening. My friend Alan has for years been a computer lover, studying, repairing, and building computers for fun at first. Now that he has retired he has developed a lucrative sideline for himself building computers for people.

The list of people with passion goes on. Music lovers who spend hours playing an instrument. Sports fanatics who belong to adult teams in several sports. I know two movie lovers, one who watches upwards of 300 movies per year, the other who watches a few hundred less but devotes himself to researching and writing screenplays.

It is too easy to get into a rut consisting of duties and responsibilities without having any central passion in one’s life. And perhaps I am prejudiced here, but those people seem the most adrift in the world without a rudder, having little to look forward to except an occasional night out with their friends or a few weeks in the summer on some overpriced vacation. When you have a passion in your life, then any day where you have a chance to indulge that passion is worth looking forward to, and joy and fulfilment comes much more frequently than otherwise.

So anybody who feels a bit lethargic about life and, in the words of the old song wonders “is that all there is?” might consider indulging one of their interests a bit. Who knows–maybe you’ll develop a passion for that interest and you will become one of those fortunate people who actually have a purpose in living in addition to your duties and responsibilities. I’m lucky that I developed my passion at a very young age, pre-teen actually, and it has grown in strength all the years since.

And I anticipate enjoying many more hours of it for the rest of my days.