Reminiscent Youth – Discovering new interests, hobbies and staying young

Posted on by
Pin0

From early on, we listen and expose ourselves to new music, art, films, books to find what we identify with, what we find we actually enjoy, what feels part of us. We discover ourselves through ideas we find in these materials and it not only shapes us but helps us shape ourselves. We define ourselves by these ideas, vibes or feelings they give us and mold them into something unique. This all mostly or perhaps moreso when we’re devoid of much responsibility.

As we get older, we tend to stick with these same early creative discoveries and interests. Or expand on the ones we already know (stick to the same genres) but just as this added color to our lives and gave us a sense of identity, belonging, even purpose, could we stand to gain from continuing this exploration? Clearly work and life’s repsonsibilities have a way of adultifying us into submission to the economic machine, society’s pressures, and values, and this turns us outward vs. inward. Without reflection, it’s easy to forget what truly makes us happy. Rekindling our relationship with our deepest and earliest interests – and expanding on them – keeps us alive, young, and in love with the richness of the variety of creative output we can find in others – as well as ourselves.

So, just a reminder to schedule time each week – or month – to rediscover your youth and explore the things you either used to be into, wanted to know more about, discover more of, or always wanted to try. You may uncover yet another part of your soul and individuality you never knew existed, that was always there, ready to surprise you with new, unique insights into yourself, and what really makes you happy.

tl;dr – Life isn’t all about work. Take an hour each week to discover new music, art, authors, interests, hobbies, like you did in your youth, and find new things that speak to you, become part of you, that you’ll cherish for years to come.

Refs

Some links to get you started

  • Bandcamp – Scroll down the front page to the Discover section. Select your favorite genre/subgenre or try one you’re unfamiliar with. You can listen to a new artist in 1 click
  • Apps to find new music
  • Goodreads Read-Alike – search an author or book title where I searched “agatha christie”. The tabs that show up will lead you to new related books you might enjoy – Try the Listopia tab