Obsessions vs Hobbies

hobby: a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation

obsession: a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling

Sunday is my day for hobbies. I am either editing photos and putting together a collection to share, or engaging with another hobby of mine: fountain pens. At the start of every month, I pick a few from my collection, clean the ones I have been using to store them, and ink the ones I want to use for the next month.

Since I journal every day, having a few pens inked and ready to go is very convenient. It also helps me clear out my collection. I was getting a bit too obsessed with fountain pens, enough for me to make adjustments.

The line between obsession and a hobby is so fine, not very different from the fine line between madness and genius. And unless we are careful, a hobby can become an obsession, starting to lose the very reason why we indeed have one.

It is at that point you really have to start to wonder why you’re into a hobby. What are you getting out of it? What is the larger reason why you are actively engaged in it? What has superseded the real reason you got into something, and it became a hobby?

I have been thinking about this a lot, as I noticed that my most recent hobby — fountain pens — was on the verge of becoming an obsession. I have noticed this in the past with my own behavior.

Obsession is when you are acquiring something for the sake of acquiring it or because it is supposed to be a collectible. Whenever I start to notice that I am veering into obsession, I take a moment to remind myself why I indeed have a hobby. What is the real joy that comes from that hobby? For me, it is actually using those things on a daily basis, and not just acquiring them.

I know when to walk away from obsessions by actually going back to using what I have. I quickly find out if they bring me happiness. I pared down my watches to just a handful because I wanted to enjoy wearing them every day. I eschewed the brands or price in favor of the allure of owning something I would love to wear daily. I am at the same place with my fountain pens, too.

I love writing with fountain pens. The older they are, the more I appreciate them. Over the years, I have built up a nice little collection. Now it is time to reduce the number. I want to get down to about ten.

My focus is to be able to write as many as ten full-length pages with a pen, without feeling any pain in my hand. And I also want to enjoy how a specific nib feels when gliding across the paper. So, I have been diligently using all the pens in my collection.

If I don’t like writing with a pen, it goes into a special box to be sold off after a week (or in some cases, even a single day). Modern pens are great, but vintage ones have a history — and a story. I appreciate the unique charm of writing with them, which makes me enjoy them more.

On my “to keep” short list are a no-name $45 piston filler from China and a vintage 1970s Montblanc 149 that I bought almost 20 years ago. My current favorite pen is a 100-year-old one, and nothing gives me more joy than writing with it. I am a third of the way to my short list. Give it a few months—I’ll be down to my curated list of beautiful writers. Obsessions are good only for a bit, but eventually, you have to return to your true loves—and a real hobby is just that.

Okay, back to cleaning, inking, and journaling.

Happy Sunday!

March 31. 3024. San Francisco