It kind of scares me that I can pursue something passionately and for a long time only to give it up all of a sudden at one point.
There's boxing which I was addicted to back in 2005-2006. I would box and train 3 times a week every morning after work when I still worked at night. It allowed me to lose 40+ lbs and get the strength and stamina I never had before. Then all of a sudden, I just stopped. Well, flying to Malaysia had something to do with that but even now that I'm in Manila, I train only maybe once a month. Crazy. To think the gym I go to still has the same trainer, same location, and same price.
There's yoga which I was also pursuing very passionately back in 2006-2009. Now that's an even longer period. This would actually be a better example because back when I was still practicing on an almost daily basis, I would spend at least 3 hours overall just to get to the yoga studio and back. Imagine all that effort just to get to class then maybe go straight to work after. My practice even reached a level in which I was doing some poses only two of us were doing in class and I didn't mind attending all the advanced classes the studio had to offer. I also spent on attending workshops and even flew to Phuket, Thailand for a week just to attend a workshop of someone I met online. Crazy! Now that I'm back in Manila, I rarely even practice at home. This is actually the saddest part because I have no reason not to practice yoga. I'm more than capable (physically, at least) to practice on my own yet my mind doesn't seem to want. In yoga parlance, it seems to seek out the shared energy that you only feel while practicing with a group of other people. I feel sad about this especially because I can see the potential in my practice especially here in the Philippines where there's not a lot of certified yoga teachers.
There's photography. I've been interested in photography since I was a kid actually. Not too serious while growing up but I always spent time framing a photo properly or trying to get some new effect with my standard film camera. I'd say I have a natural eye for framing a photo, at the very least. So when I had the money to buy my own camera, I actually purchased a DSLR, two lenses, and an external flash. I attended workshops and would click, and click, and click, and click. I'd say I was okay and I really did enjoy taking photos as I traveled or even during small events. Then for some reason I just lost interest. I would find my camera bag and equipment just laid there in my room gathering dust. I would take it out sometime and shoot whatever random photo I can find but it felt different and detached. So eventually I decided to sell all of my camera stuff. In fact, I only have a point and shoot camera now which I bought back in 2006 and I rarely even use it now. Sad.
So that's my little realization for the month. I can imagine that I will still continue to do either of these in the future but definitely not as intense as during its respective heyday. It makes me think though if I'm programmed to want to try out different things all the time. Someone told me that it's probably because I like the chase or I enjoy the hunt more than the prey. It makes sense and I'm sure a lot of people are like that. What makes me sad though is that if put in a different light, of all the things I can let go of easily, my passions are the ones that seem go first. And that will remain my great personal irony.
There's boxing which I was addicted to back in 2005-2006. I would box and train 3 times a week every morning after work when I still worked at night. It allowed me to lose 40+ lbs and get the strength and stamina I never had before. Then all of a sudden, I just stopped. Well, flying to Malaysia had something to do with that but even now that I'm in Manila, I train only maybe once a month. Crazy. To think the gym I go to still has the same trainer, same location, and same price.
The absolute peak of my weight loss and my boxing "career". This was probably at 135 lbs. Before boxing, I was pushing 190 lbs.
There's yoga which I was also pursuing very passionately back in 2006-2009. Now that's an even longer period. This would actually be a better example because back when I was still practicing on an almost daily basis, I would spend at least 3 hours overall just to get to the yoga studio and back. Imagine all that effort just to get to class then maybe go straight to work after. My practice even reached a level in which I was doing some poses only two of us were doing in class and I didn't mind attending all the advanced classes the studio had to offer. I also spent on attending workshops and even flew to Phuket, Thailand for a week just to attend a workshop of someone I met online. Crazy! Now that I'm back in Manila, I rarely even practice at home. This is actually the saddest part because I have no reason not to practice yoga. I'm more than capable (physically, at least) to practice on my own yet my mind doesn't seem to want. In yoga parlance, it seems to seek out the shared energy that you only feel while practicing with a group of other people. I feel sad about this especially because I can see the potential in my practice especially here in the Philippines where there's not a lot of certified yoga teachers.
Taken at East Coast Park, Singapore in May 2007 by my then 8 year old nephew. This photo actually won third place in a National Geographic online contest about Singapore. I got a NatGeo bag mailed to my apartment in Malaysia. How cool is that. (I checked the tag and the bag is made in the Philippines)
There's photography. I've been interested in photography since I was a kid actually. Not too serious while growing up but I always spent time framing a photo properly or trying to get some new effect with my standard film camera. I'd say I have a natural eye for framing a photo, at the very least. So when I had the money to buy my own camera, I actually purchased a DSLR, two lenses, and an external flash. I attended workshops and would click, and click, and click, and click. I'd say I was okay and I really did enjoy taking photos as I traveled or even during small events. Then for some reason I just lost interest. I would find my camera bag and equipment just laid there in my room gathering dust. I would take it out sometime and shoot whatever random photo I can find but it felt different and detached. So eventually I decided to sell all of my camera stuff. In fact, I only have a point and shoot camera now which I bought back in 2006 and I rarely even use it now. Sad.
This was taken using my point and shoot at Perhentian Islands, Malaysia back in 2007. This photo also won first place in the company photography contest. I am not sure if I won that contest because this photo is really nice (the theme was "Red, Yellow, Grey") or because they just asked the employees to vote for their favorite. Considering the number of Pinoys who voted... Hmmm...
So that's my little realization for the month. I can imagine that I will still continue to do either of these in the future but definitely not as intense as during its respective heyday. It makes me think though if I'm programmed to want to try out different things all the time. Someone told me that it's probably because I like the chase or I enjoy the hunt more than the prey. It makes sense and I'm sure a lot of people are like that. What makes me sad though is that if put in a different light, of all the things I can let go of easily, my passions are the ones that seem go first. And that will remain my great personal irony.
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