Wildcard Topic: Mind Melding

I've been thinking a lot lately about the apparently insatiable curiosity about...well...everything that I seem to have been blessed (cursed?) with. It all starts so innocently, with something I read or see on TV or hear from someone else. It doesn't take much, just a word or image to send me off on a frantic mission to learn everything I possibly can about that "thing" that sparked my interest. Aside from my single-minded focus for a few weeks or months, it still isn't a problem at this stage. I'm building my knowledge base, learning new things, and generally making new friends in the process.

The problem comes when my brain becomes over-saturated with all the new knowledge. For some things, having learned about and/or experienced them is enough, and I'm fine just moving on to the next "shiny thing" that catches my eye. But with other things, I don't necessarily want to give them up, but I have to find a way to "meld" them into my life with all of the other things I decide to keep.

The most recent example of this is my love of tea. Not just tea as a drink, but tea as a culture - the people, the rituals, and all of the knowledge that goes along with that. I started doing reviews to increase my knowledge, and a whole world opened up for me that I hadn't known existed. I built a successful blog (Tea On Tap) around those reviews, and made some wonderful friends. But late last year, I reached that point where I felt I had followed that path as far as I cared to go with it. Ever since, I've been trying to go back - to recapture that excitement and desire to taste new teas and analyze them for reviews, but I just can't. I've passed that stage, and my only choices now are to either let the culture that I've "steeped" myself in just drift away, or find some way to meld my tea knowledge and culture into the other interests I hold on to.

Just recently, I've had some revelations on what exactly I'm trying to hold on to. Really, it's the culture I'm trying not to lose, rather than the tea (which I will always drink and enjoy, no matter what, because I love it). What I don't want to leave behind is the people, the ritual, the whole process that embodies "tea". I love it too much to just walk away.

This week, I had an epiphany. I was replying to an email from a tea vendor, someone I consider a far-away friend when the answer just came to me. I would revamp my blog, and meld my other everyday experiences into my own personal "tea culture". And that is what I can explore for myself, and thus contribute to the tea community - the product of using my other interests to enhance the enjoyment of tea, and vice versa. Evolving tea culture.

Precious few interests that I explore at one point or another actually become a permanent part of my life. The sad fact of the matter is, I simply don't have time to "keep" all the hobbies and interests that I've obsessed over in my life, and since I'm constantly learning about new things, many more will be left along the side of my road, having been wrung out and tossed aside like a wet sponge. While I'm glad I'm like this, it also frustrates me at having to leave all those things behind when I move on, and it's a relief that for now at least, I've found a way to keep one.

Incidentally, writing fiction is a "hobby" I've been trying to get rid of for years. I try to ignore it, try to shut out the voices in my head, and even tell myself that it's a waste of time that could be spent on more productive pursuits. But writing simply won't be cast off. It refuses to go away, even when I spent years deliberately ignoring the constant prodding. It's only been a few months since I gave in, and decided to embrace it. Needless to say, I'm more content now than I've been in a long time, and finally at peace with this part of myself.

So, dear readers - are you obsessed with learning about new things like I am? How do you deal with the constant flow of information in and out as hobbies and interests come and go? Is there one that just won't leave you alone - or one that you're desperately trying to figure out how to keep?