Interesting, Peaceful or Depressing?

Human beings — along with their likes and dislikes — are really incredibly varied!

I was talking to a friend — well, a friendly acquaintance — recently, and it didn't take us very long to ascertain that we had vastly different ideas about what "having fun" and "being happy" were about.

It got me to thinking about the extent to which my life has been characterized by the common thread that most of the things I really enjoy seem to be boring to the majority of the world.

When I was young, I was often labeled as "old" and now that I am older, I am often labeled as "old-fashioned."

Even as a relatively little kid, I prioritized and enjoyed peace and quiet, but those around me seemed to waste no time in assuring me that such a desire was "for old retired people."

Conversely, I never found "excitement" — whatever that actually means — to be particularly exciting. I mostly found it disturbing and unsettling.

Psychology experts often agree that that most of the things we preferred as children turn out to be where we direct our attention as adults... even if it takes a slightly different format.

My fondness for nature photography... which invariably shows up in my blog posts started when I was in my teens and actually photographing with old fashioned film.

It wasn't so unusual for a young person to be interested in photography, but most of my friends and peers were out there taking pictures of sporting events and parties... which I was crawling around photographing bugs and flowers.

Without a doubt, I was (at least partially) trained by my parents who were older than most, and taught me the joys of quiet activities, rather than running around being noisy... like most normal kids.

It wasn't really a stretch for me, since was naturally inclined towards introversion... so being left alone with a book was perfectly fine with me! Which, of course, was very boring to most kids my age.

As I sit here, all these years later, it really underscores how different our perception of the same things; the same events can be. Of course, I ended up getting pretty much exactly what I hoped for: A quiet life.

The fact that quiet lives are not necessarily valued in our world... that stands apart from the reality.

It took me a few years to learn that my choices were enough. They might not have been enough financially, but they were enough... in terms of what I hoped life would be.

And you can't really ask for more than that.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Sunday!

How about YOU? Is your life turning out the way you'd hoped? Are your hopes and dreams pretty "typical," or do they stand apart from the mainstream? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2026.08.09 00:24PDT
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