Hobby is usually defined as an interesting occupation for leisure time,
not one’s
regular business. Unfortunately, I am hard pressed for time, & , on the one
hand, as has it W.H. Davies in his poem about leisure:
What is this life, if full of care.
We have no time to stand & stare.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass,
No time to see in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at
night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can
dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this is full of care,
We have no time to stand & stare.
W.H. Davies
But on the other hand: the three things most difficult are – to keep
a secret,
to forget an injury & to make good use of free time. People say:
Value time over money – only time cannot be replenished.
They say that the best kind of job is a well – paid hobby.
Naturally, this is an ideal situation, & not always be found in real life. Of
course, if you run mad after your activity, fully expressing yourself in it, you
have no time for anything else. But I’d say that it’s more useful to have
something different to switch. Everybody needs some rest even from one’s
favourite occupation. Beyond all doubt: «all work & no play makes Jack a dull
boy». I agree with it in all ways. We must diversity our life.
That’s why people invented hobbies.
If you have chosen a hobby according to your character & taste you
are lucky, because your life becomes more interesting. But, for example,
watching TV every day isn’t a hobby, because it’s a passive enjoyment – one sits
in one’s armchair watching other working. Tastes differ, you may say. On this
occasion I’m of the opinion that TV can be called a hobby if you participate in
creating TV programs or play in TV shows outside your work.
Here are some examples of what some famous people liked to do in
their spare time: Victor Hugo enjoyed hiking & horse back riding; Ivan Turgenev
was an enthusiastic hunter; Earnest Hemingway was good at sailing & fishing;
Rossini and Alexander Dumas were found of cooking; Sir Winston Churchill liked
to paint; Bill Clinton plays the saxophone. Our president, Vladimir Putin, is a
judo enthusiast.
Some people excelled in their hobbies more than in their profession &
become famous due to their hobbies. This happened to the doctor Anton Chehov, to
the teacher Konstantin Tsiolkovski & to Mikhail Botvinnik, whose hobby chess
brought
him to the world champion title.
Frankly speaking, nowadays it has become rather difficult for a lot
of people to maintain a hobby, because a TV has entered our life, offering easy
way to pass free time without investing a lot of efforts. Before we admitted the
«one – eyed monster» into our homes, we used to enjoy civilized pleasures more:
we used to entertain our friends or be entertained by them. Now a lot of free
time is regulated by the TV. We rush home or gulp down our meals to be in time
for this or that program. Just think of the number of people watching TV every
night! Who knows how many people never discovered their talents & vocations
because they were too busy staring at the screen thoughtlessly?
If my memory doesn’t fail me, I might be wrong of course there are
more than 1000 personal interests & ways of spending one’s spare time. The main
thing about hobbies is that they enlarge a person’s knowledge in some particular
field & broaden
his outlook. Hobbies are divided into 4 large classes: doing things, making
things, collecting things & learning things. Almost everyone collects something
at some period in his life: stamps, books, records, toys, coins, watches etc.
People with a good deal of money often collect paintings, rare books & other art
objects. Many people are fond of hunting, but not with guns. They enjoy
«hunting» the sea animals & fish with a camera. Both children & adults are fond
of playing different computer games.
As for me, I must confess I don’t mind telling you, I can’t
imagine my life without music. There is music everywhere: we listen to birds
singing, the wind in the trees, humming of bees, babbling of forest streams,
chirring of grasshoppers & so on.
To my mind music is the most mysterious art. Good music gives the
listener a keen sensual delight, it ennobles the listener. Music creates a
special spiritual world for the listener which immensely enriches his inner life
& makes him happy. I believe there is hardly man who can clearly explain the
effect of harmonious sounds on a human soul. Music doesn’t offer visual images
but many people claim that they «see» music. Music never explains words but
nearly everyone says that he understands music. I like so-called pop-music. New
& interesting composers & soloist have appeared. Of course, their songs are not
always polished & often contain paradoxical phrases & unusual expressions. May
be the lyrics songs deal with young people’s world, their hopes, dreams,
disappointments & joys. Some songs are senseless but many young people «get
tremen dous kicks» listening to this kind of music. There’s no denying the fact
that in Australia taped pop music is used to frighten the sharks off the public
beaches. Obviously, the sharks’ nerves can’t endure this kind of noise. Who
could have thought? Anyhow I am delighted with music. As Longfellow has it:
«Music is a universal language of mankind».
In my opinion, the most successful group the world has ever
known was the Beatles. The road to success wasn’t always easy for John
Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison & Ringo Starr. Not only was their style
of singing new & exciting but their unusual haircuts – Beatle «mops» - &
crazy sense of humor became the latest fashion. I’m really mad about this group.
Being admirer of the Beatles, imagine my surprise when I heard a
wonderful, magic music. It was «Snow-storm» by the greatest Russian composer of
the XX century Georgi Vasillevich Sviridov. Our native land, Russian nature gave
him inspiration on composing the music that touches everybody’s heart. It was in
Suzdal in a wooden church, here, in this place was created musical illustration
to A.S. Pushkin’s «Snow-storm». This music touched me to the
quick. I was taken aback, much to my surprise. Listening «Snow-storm» by
Sviridov I imagine leafless trees & ever-green pines & fir-trees with heavy
«caps» of snow, snow-drifts & snow-flakes. God only knows how but I see it,
take it from me. I’m in a sledge & a fast horse is castying me along a forest
road. I’m looking at white & silver trees. Long gold sunbeams lay across the
snow, making it sparkle like a radiant, glittering fine diamond dust.
To cut a long story short, I take leave to say, that music
creates a special spiritual world which enriches our life. Music removes tension
from the mind & rest the soul. Figuratively speaking, I always feel at peace
with the world when listening to the good music. You just want believe, but more
than that it satisfies the need for self-expression & the hunger for beauty.
I can’t imagine my life without music. As William Shakespeare
has it in his work «The Merchant of Venice»:
The man, that hath no music in himself
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet
sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils,
The motions of his spirit are dark as night,
And his affections are dull as Erebus
Let no such man be trusted!