With right hobby, you might even enjoy lockdown
AT 5AM this morning I was walking past a bolted-up early house I used to frequent. It made me reminisce about the dawns spent walking along the Liffey, guided by the golden funnel of rising sunlight to a den of iniquity, where behind closed doors, in cigarette smoke-filled rooms, sweaty people danced on chairs, off their bins.
How my interests have changed. This time, I was going for a sunrise photo walk with a friend. It’s the ultimate coronavirus cliché. “I’m going to walk fanatically and excel at my passions while this pandemic is going on so I come up smiling post-Covid.”
To be fair, we’ve been left with little else. My usual hobbies – which probably read like a teenage letter to a penpal – including travelling, having fun, swimming, indulging in outdoor adventure sports, football, art and the odd rave, have now been reduced to walking and taking photos.
It may not be much, but it’s kept me from losing my mind. That and the unusual amount of sunshine we’ve enjoyed. So far, my pre-global depression Covid bubble has been quite pleasant.
I can’t say it’s been worse than for any man I know – which according to research from the Central Statistics Office on the social impact of the virus, it should be. The CSO found that women are enjoying Covid less than men, with 40pc of women being “downhearted or depressed” at least some of the time and drinking more than usual.
Women seemed to be more worried about keeping social ties and about the impact of Covid-19 on loved ones.
That I believe but, in general, when all things are equal, it’s not man versus woman, rather hobbies versus no hobbies in the battle to endure pandemic pandemonium.
“Easy for you to say. You obviously weren’t affected by the disease,” you could suggest. Well I’m a freelancer, photographer and single parent – not Jeff Bezos. We’re all affected by the virus. Thankfully most Irish people didn’t end up in hospital, or lose loved ones, and most of us aren’t living on the street, being abused or working on the front line.
Most people are cocooning in a comfortable zorb before the economy tanks. But as we’re forced to stand still, those who are active, paint, or partake in an interest outside of family and doing the housework, are happier than those who aren’t.
A survey by Bupa last year, asked 2,000 adults aged 55 years what they believe it takes to live a long and happy life, and creativity and hobbies came in second and third after family.
Luckily we have caught the hobby bug. A study by picodi.com, an online shopping service, found searches by Irish people for board games increased by 338pc, while workout searches increased by 150pc.
It’s good news, because hobbies needed a revamp. They fell foul to bad press, since in these busy modern times, “I don’t have time for fencing, I have a family to look after”, while younger people deemed them uncool.
But they are so much more than that. As anyone belonging to the category of ‘artist’ will attest, we’re used to being brushed off as surplus, non-essentials with a dose of contemptuous, “oh well, what do you expect, of course you won’t have work”.
But, thanks to our passion for the craft, many of us are still indulging.
Musicians have made music, writers have been writing, photographers have been out taking photos, sorting through old files, storing images. I’ve spent weeks filing photos and going out at all hours taking them, while doing online masterclasses.
Without it, my day, despite being spent with my daughter, would feel empty.
A lack of active interests can cause narcissism and depression, especially in young people. Get off your phones and go for a walk.
This time will pass either way, and spending it drunken Zooming or indulging in passive leisure like Netflix may seem arbitrary in hindsight.
But once you indulge in hobbies, social etiquette must be followed. If your hobbies are too fancy – like heliskiing – you’re a toff.
Baking is fine, workouts in the park doing 25,000 steps and posting it online equals w**ker.
It’s not about being good either. Kurt Vonnegut said: “To practise any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”
Regardless of your sex, you can endure Covid, but with hobbies, you can also enjoy it.
It’s not man versus woman, it’s hobbies versus no hobbies in the battle to endure the pandemic