Saw someone upbraiding someone else for having a hobby while the world is on fire, and, my friends:
The world is ever on fire, this is today's conflagration;
If you don't find time for rest and joy the fire will consume you;
Don't let people shame you for being an entire human.
PS: All of you quoting Billy Joel in the comments:
It's actually shameful to not do those things.
never measure yourself with someone else's ruler -- i always say ....
no hobby only fire
We only get one life might as well live it with the purpose you want it to have .
This
Woot woot and huzzah to boot! That Mr. John Scalzi are some of the wisest words I've seen posted in quite some time. Thank you for putting them out there.
What a beautiful sentiment. I knew I followed you for good reason! Cheers mate!
Yesterday I saw literally the very same castigation on a FB foodie group post about how to best heat up a pastrami on rye that the guy’s wife refrigerated. Still wondering how the OP’s eating a cold gloppy sandwich would solve world peace.
Beautifully said.
This is always true. But for me, it's especially when I think about my kids: Do I want them to see me only in states of rage and sadness? That's not what I want to model for them. I need them to be able to find their joy where they can find it.
Humans are generally arsey. I got called a stupid C*nt today by a guy trying to enter the intersection while I was crossing on Walk sign. I coulda been his mother 😪
To be a conservative, the prerequisite is to lack empathy, compassion, social morals, and common sense…
And the ability to disguise the orange around your neck …
👍🏿👍👍🏾👍🏼👍🏻👍🏽
📌
Firstly, yes to everything you said. As someone who hasn’t taken the time to find balance, I can tell you that my mental and physical (in that order) wellbeing has suffered.
Secondly, thank you for introducing me to the word “upbraiding”! I had never heard that before! 😃
That person would join my block list. Who needs that negativity?
We need some places of sanity on earth otherwise we are completely doomed as a species
I worked in policy advocacy for 15+ years; I let my hobbies atrophy for a long time and it was a huge mistake. Now I'm fully burned out, and barely remember how to play music or write for pleasure. Thankfully started GMing again, which has been my only refuge. Don't be me.
Remember as well, you have no control over the people starting the fires.
And maybe to not be as close to fully human is to "obey in advance?"
My late mother-in-law berated me constantly for playing video games. "I'm an adult. I can do what I want."
The world is on fire, no one can save me but writing, organizing photos and travel-planning.
Wow, what a dumb take. For most of us, hobbies are the only real outlet for our creativity. In a world on fire, creative thinking is the ONLY thing that will save us.
I write as a hobby, not for a living. But my writing is where I imagine. Before you can do anything, you must first imagine it.
The world isn't even that on fire. There's always stuff going on. People are too plugged into this stuff.
If you don’t have any down time from politics your head may explode.
Yes, going through cancer treatment during this shit time. Gotta have some solace, for me that’s nature. I bought myself a new camera to distract myself with.
I've begun writing again a brief distraction from everything beyond my control.
Thank you for this ❤️
Exactly 💯 correct! We hafta take our gloves off every so often, because if we don't, we'll be another preferably, or worse, real casualty. 💙🫏🦋🫂
4: you spent money on your hobby and not on wmd
Thank you.
One can always say "times are troubling" at any point in human history. Having interests and hobbies is why we're able to consume this news and be a part of the Internet. People chose to be interested in technology and infrastructure.
There are a lot of newly politically engaged people who have never campaigned, advocated, protested, written the language, paid for the space, or spent hours, days, years of their lives toiling for some tiny gain. Their indignation is irritating so I'm avoiding them.
"...and give us this day, our daily conflagration...."
Franklin D Roosevelt said it best. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. We must stand strong we must stand together we must force these fools who voted for this con man this fascist back under the rocks. They crawled out from they have no place in a civil society. No justice, no peace.
Yes. Thank you. We must find joy in our day to day
All the more reason to engage in hobbies.
Take care of yourself first
Agree. I have plenty of hobbies. They are my escape. The trolls are coming.
I need fiddling and skiing to renew my soul for the fight.
My hobbies keep me sane. You need me time to stay sane and composed.
completely unrelated but thanks for teaching me a new word
A hobby… while the world is on fire… ?
The fact is that living a good life is likely the only thing you can do in this situation. Live every day; be a good person; help who you can.
@scalzi.com I actually mention your bluesky account in the acknowledgments of my latest book! Things like this are why! Keep it up.
Jacques Cousteau made his first underwater film “Par dix-huit mètres de fond” in occupied France while keeping his distance from his brother Pierre-Antoine, who edited the collaborationist newspaper “Je suis partout” and doing some resistance spying. You can have a hobby.
Find time for Joy 🎄
What a thoughtful post
preach! I'm having more of a blast than ever with my hobbies lately and no news is gonna stop that. What happens, happens. At least I'll be able to perfect my maniacal laugh as my conservative family members slowly realize our country is going down the drain as their consumer culture goes too far
When you see video from Syria and see life in Damascus looks like anywhere else in the world you realize life goes on even through insanity. In Nazi occupied Poland and France theater troupes were still preforming. I guess it’s human coping skills and handling grief.
Thank you for this bit of timely wisdom
My new hobby is being bemused at the reaction of White people faced with the potential of living like I as a Black American have for every day of my life.
Well said.
I refer to my horse rides as my therapy sessions. We all need some time when the dumpster fire we live in goes to the background.
Ah, yes, the world has always burned in some fashion, this is merely the current blaze. To deny oneself moments of joy and solace is to invite the fire to claim you entirely. Be whole, my friends; find light amid the flames. Do not let shame extinguish your humanity.
Preach it. Joy is an act of resistance.
Yes. Sometimes for me Nietzsche's 'Joyful Wisdom' aphorism is necessary for sanity's sake. Though obviously not always desirable. "Between yourself and today lay the skin of at least three centuries."
It’s important to remember that we ALL need to take care of ourselves, spend time with our loved ones, and enjoy our lives to the fullest. This is especially crucial for this time we are in.
#Photography
Living with JOY is an act of rebellion. It is needed to stay in for the long haul.
Hobbies bring joy. Hobbies are not just good they are vital in times like these.
Are you the old man's war, dude?
Hobbies keep you sane.
I have a hobby, I spend time enjoying what I do to get my mind off of where we have ended up. I am not wasting 4 years over a POS who does not deserve free rent in my head, he deserves nothing. Joy, I need joy, that’s my goal while facing a disaster in the making. It’s coming so find your joy people
Sailors used to say, one hand to steady yourself, and one to steady the ship. Always true.
Upbraid -- find fault with (someone); scold
It is the only thing that keeps I sane.
It's the same old bullshit that people have said for centuries, how to you think the preachers keep the money coming in? "Look at everything going on in the world", it's what keeps the sheep coming back to the pews.
We must bathe in fire whilst we can still afford to John, oil prices! Foreign policy! Foreign relations! Ahhhhhh!!!!! 😉
I saw a meme or a comic on Tumblr that said “the world is on fire, but someone still has to make dinner,” and I felt that.
Yes, but why would you waste time on that hobby? At least pick something productive...
I'm kidding, of course, but I have heard that my entire life.
Great advice
Aside form my avatar (The Scream) and what I write in my blog I try to achieve balance. I generally devote a couple of hours first thing in the morning to the news and to writing my blog and then chill out, relax, have fun, and enjoy at 80 whatever life I have left with my loved ones and friends.
My hobby is rebuilding and lifting an old wrangler so I don’t get stuck on the highway when my town is being evacuated.
Well said! Sage advice to follow!
As someone who is in constant battle and has been in some way, shape, or form for the last 2 decades, let me say…
Without people expressing their hobbies and joy, I would have no reason to fight. Whatever I need to sacrifice to let people do it, so be it, but please keep existing the way you do.
This 👆
We all cope with our experience of the world in different ways, there is no right or wrong, there is only the search for peace.
Yes!!!
100%
Find the joy around you.
Bathe in it.
Let it nourish you.
Endurance is not simply running yourself into the ground.
Someone who thinks that down time with a hobby during these stressful times is a bad thing is probably wired with anger and anxiety all the time, which is not conducive to their health or their effectiveness in dealing with the problem. Solutions pop up during downtime.
I love this💙
Hobbies are one way to put out the fire.
Also don't give your balance and emotional state over to anyone. Ever. Especially a malignant #narcissist. They love your fatigue + shock and use it to invade more, claim more of your interior territory. Hold steady, stay connected + rest when you need to.
This is why I got so excited for a bowl game trophy that is a literal, functioning toaster
True that 😄. This post earned you a follow. I love your humor.
People without hobbies are people who thrive on drama bc they're bored.
I’ve been getting back in to needlepoint, but be assured, I always wear a hair shirt.
Say it louder for the people in the back! Life has to go on, or what's the point?
We need hobbies to keep us grounded and sane!
THIS. There's this weird forced "you are a public figure now because you sometimes tweet about politics" thing that I'm rejecting completely.
I make jewelry. I crochet. I love to spend an entire day buried in a book. Being ourselves matters more than societal expectations.
As Emma Goldman said: "I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal... should demand the denial of life and joy."
If not for joy, there'd be nothing worth fighting for.
Hell, I work so I can afford my hobbies. Just let someone try to shame me. The beauty of getting older . I don't give a shit what others think.
This resonated with me even though I can't recall where I saw it: Keep in mind that your happiness is a factor in the equation if your objective is to enhance happiness in the world.
Books are my joy and I will never be ashamed of them, or the tropes I enjoy! 📚
I have always reminded myself that my so-called suffering does not alleviate anyone else's pain unless I take some action. So I do what I can financially. But freaking out, which is impossible not to do at times, by itself isn't productive.
Excellent advice!
"Unbraiding"...love that use of the word. It's like this guy's a writer or something! :)
"We Didn't Start the Fire..."
Spent so long on Twitt engaging with arseholes whose opinions I'm never going to share, or change, I left and have retreated back to time spent on hobbies and reading.
It has helped my mental state massively.
Why be unhappy when the world is going to shit?
Wildfire fighters can’t keep going if they don’t eventually step away. They risk being burned no matter what, but maybe more so than when fatigued. We need a time. And I don’t want the evil people in the world to take away all the joy in my life or time spent with loved ones.
TIL “upbraiding”
That is completely in your control. You can only shame yourself, others cannot make you ashamed. 😎
the fetishization of victimization is a major problem for both extremes, manifested in very different ways. regardless, it's an unhealthy trap
agreed
If we don't have joy what are we fighting for
I mean, Billy Joel did call it 35 years ago...
Are we living in interesting times or am I just now getting interested?
You burn out if you don’t do things that enrich your life.
I agree.
Sometimes i wonder if I was in a vacuum pre-2016.
I’ve never been the same since 2016…
It felt easier to flip into fun even if struggling economically before narcissistic abuse became normalized.
Now I just exist in various states of C-PTSD.
🔥⤴️
Irony is we need to be more into hobbies and have more fun in our lives to endure and help others endure the rest of it, not act like dour political zealots trying to make everyone feel bad because bad stuff happens.
And either way, everyone dies in the end, have fun people!!
I suppose we should all be wearing hair shirts and self-flagellating as well? I find joy to SPITE all those horrible jerks making the world as it is.
The world is always on fire. That's why we're always fucking exhausted.
Well said! ❤️ If you’re the type to shame someone for having a hobby you’re part of the problem.
I have this quote from Corita Kent on my wall, which absolutely applies to hobbies:
"Doing and making are acts of hope, and as that hope grows, we stop feeling overwhelmed by the troubles of the world. We remember that we — as individuals and groups — can do something about those troubles.”
I needed to see something like this today, thank you
Truth.
I am just trying to save our food supply, one beehive at a time. If I stopped, the fruit would wither on the vine.
Shades of the Red Guard. Stay humble and nimble people. Nobody knows any of the answers. Every day is a school day.
📌
👍My ukulele awaits. 🎶🎵🎶
Important reminder😉.
And here is my reminder that pursuing joy is an act of resistance. Finding ways to be happy will make the horrible people mad because they don't know how to be happy.
Comments & analysis: Boswell by my bed, / Tolstoy on my table; / Thought the world has bled / For four and a ha
I mean did we really start the fire? It seems like it’s been always burning since the world started turning. Might as well Have a hobby
Some one that has to tear some one down to feel good about themselves , isn’t some one I want to know well, I just need to know who they are. Fore Warned is forarmed
And some hobbies can help people. Many of us knit, crochet, or sew for the less fortunate.
❤️
Hobbies are what give us respite and the ability to face the next day.
it's okay to feel sad, just as it's okay to feel joy. you won't be balanced with one and not the other. if you give away to the doom and gloom, you'll drown and suffocate yourself with it.
I spent 47s first term being angry by what I read and watched. I'm not putting myself through it again
what if all that's happening around me is hobbies and avoidance? i feel insane bc no one i talk to IRL even acknowledges anything is going on outside their hobbies. this app is my only sanity check.
Hobbies help with rage mitigation.
If anyone tried to upbraid me about my hobbies they might find a knitting needle where they don’t want one…
LOL the world will be on fire from here on out, my friends. We have passed into the 1000 year Age of the Flame. To be followed by the Ash Times and then, incongruently, the Purple Years.
I realise that we're leaving my child a hellhole where climate will decimate everything.
Pardon me if I skip stamp collecting or whatever.
In fact, there may not ever be a better time for a hobby.
Actively seeking hobbies now.
Exactly.
oh this aint regular fire, or did you forget that fucking two million people died last time that orange prick was in office? I think you can get over people being just a wee bit scared and pissed off there, guy.
miss me with that condescending pearl-clutchin bullshit.
I mean, Charles Dickens’ Madame Defarge had a hobby, I guess.
I work in emergency medicine . I NEED my gardening/reading/building and painting plastic space marines.
We didn't start the fire! It's been always burning, since the world's been turning.
Today i learned the word upbraid.
Great advise. Thanks
My hobby is theatre. A great escape. Yay for hobbies.
Yes! We can still enjoy roasting marshmallows even while in the midst of a dumpster fire. You gotta stop and enjoy yourself at some point or else be consumed by your misery.
Fighting for our peace as we move forward is important. Of hobbies help, then yay.
Thank you!
Every act of creation is an act of rebellion.
We need the joy. Now more than ever. And when it's in short supply, that's when we most need to make more.
Relevant
What if shame is my hobby? 🧐🤔
Ok everyone is gonna be mad but…the photo of Harris in a hoodie playing with her nieces, the day after the election, was really comforting. She was heartbroken I’m sure, but also smiling, hanging out with kids. We’re allowed to too.
We must stop cancelling ourselves. Another great reply to the self-righteous impulse (if people will listen) here youtu.be/G1juPBoxBdc?...
I have always considered myself very well versed in the English language, but I was today years old when I discovered the word Upbraiding and I love it and will be using it. Thank you.
And also, you’re entirely right. Pick any point in history, it’s always been a clusterfuck
Sometimes I think "why am I sitting here laughing at some guy deliberately making Planet Coaster 2 into an insane pit of human suffering when the world is full of actual suffering" but if I consider all the actual suffering ... I REALLY NEED something to laugh at.
👆👆👆
if more people allowed themselves to be human the world would be a better place.
I'm making gifts for Christmas -- 3 quilts, 2 pair of PJ pants, a hoodie, a messenger bag, and 3 dice bags.
Fuck anyone who thinks I should sit here and mourn what's about to happen instead of doing something that makes me and others happy.
We need to enjoy what we can, while we can.
If we can’t take part in what little joy there is to be had, what are we even fighting for in the first place
Some elder statesman wisdom right there
My thinking is, get in on the fun while you can, especially if you're in the US. Things can go very bad, very fast. I'm personally soaking it up before the possibility I may not be able to after Shitler disgraces the Whitehouse again
Being informed and prepared doesn't require abandoning pleasures
It helps if your hobby is starting fires, putting out fires, or both.
We all need the distraction
I have a hobby.
The world would be a lot less "on fire" if everyone did have a hobby.
Human rights activist Bruce Cockburn wrote this after spending an evening with various military leaders who could only see the world in terms of power and danger
Sewing kept me sane during Trump's last term, and I’ll be leaning on it heavily during this new one. While we continue to protest & stand up to craziness, it’s also important to find healthy outlets to unwind & preserve our sanity. I hope everyone finds joy in some type of hobby.
I appreciate you introducing me to new words...I have never heard "upbraiding" but now I'll use it. Also, totally true about hobbies. How to people without hobbies relax? 😅
"My inability to compartmentalise means I get the right to make everyone else feel guilty about experiencing any pleasure whatsoever".
Well, that’s just utter bullshit. If I didn’t have hobbies like playing guitar, photography or taking my daily walk I’d have lost my damn mind a long time ago.
Wise words. Nature photography and woodcarving give me satisfaction, inner peace, and the energy to try to make the world a better place (at least as best that I can).
