Everything that takes the mind off of all the stress of contemporary life.
Being in nature, reading a book or graphic novel, or visiting museums
Reading and hiking are the two main ones for me.
What are you reading?
On holiday this week, so I have a new read: Father Goriot. I have hardly started so far.
Great read! Not fun, but you went for Balzac so I assume you know what you are getting yourself into. Enjoy!
Biking is pretty fun and freeing. There’s no gas to buy or heavy traffic. Writing is also great. I’ve been journaling recently and it’s helped a lot
Spending time with my horse is my favorite activity. It’s so relaxing and I forget all of my troubles when I’m at the barn
On the one hand I’m a volunteer for the Red Cross which is a very satisfying and “in the moment” activity.
On the other hand I put on a mask and pretend to be a dog for a while
Good on you and… good boy!
Woof!
Volunteering is excellent, and it can look good on a resume too!
pretend to be a dog for a while
wat
Oh you know. Not talking, walking on all fours, playing fetch, getting scratches. That kind of thing.
Smoking weed, hooking into my mp3 player, then going to the park to vibe on the swing
I recently started teaching myself piano. There are great adult method books that make the process pretty straightforward. Modern digital pianos are fantastic and be can used with headphones too, which lets me practice without annoying the rest of the house.
Any suggestions? I’ve owned a piano for years, even took a lesson or two, but no dice.
I can play a couple snippets of songs, but that’s it. No real skill or ability. And I can’t read sheet music.
band program! some music schools do it. I’m in an adult band program at a School of Rock near me.
I’m a bassist at heart but I’ve always enjoyed keys too, so when I signed up for thr band program I decided to lean in hard on keys. It’s been just the right amount of motivation and challenge and I’ve definitely skilled up a lot
also I can’t read sheet music either hahaha. kinda starting to grasp what notes are on what lines but I’m way more used to playing by ear, or using tabs for bass guitar
I’m using the Faber Adult Piano Adventures books, and am having a great time. I try and learn one new piece each day (they are short pieces – at most about 1 to 2 pages). The method books are great because they start from absolute basics and build as you go, so as long as you are honest with yourself and don’t skip ahead until ready, they are a great way to learn, especially if you are interested in learning to read sheet music.
Aside from that the biggest help has been listening to a lot of classical piano music and that has also been a rewarding experience on its own.
Make music. I’m technically still on a computer, but I don’t need to be online for it, so that counts I guess?
I bake. I like to try out new recipes, usually cookies, since they travel well and can early be given to multiple people and enjoyed wherever. I’ll be making cinnamon rolls today, though, since there’s a breakfast thing at work tomorrow.
Playing music! I always feel better after sitting down at my drum kit for half an hour or so. I think it works with any instrument though.
How do the neighbors feel about this?
The ones I’ve talked to are fine with it. I’ve dampened the sound as much as I could, and I only play between 11 and 8, though rarely that late. One neighbor mentioned they enjoy it, I suspect the rest merely tolerate.
I adore watching movies. I own so many physically and don’t mind using streaming services (especially free ones like Kanopy). Just being taken to another world for a while or even learning a bit more about our own in documentaries is nice. Even if the movie sucks or is mid I’d still rather watch than keep 100% focus on life.
I like downloading a couple hundred tiktoks and scrolling them offline for a couple hours at a time
Gardening, dancing, sex, reading, exercise, cooking, riding the electric bike, going to see live music (people are always filming on their phones but I don’t, prefer to just experience it).
Reading. I end my evening reading in bed with a tumbler of wine.
Noodling on one of my guitars
