Not too long ago, my dad handed me a glass jar full of a weird beige doughy thing and said, “I made you a sourdough starter.” I hadn’t asked for it, but I like the bread he makes, so I gladly received it. And just like that, I had a new hobby. Making my own bread isn’t difficult, but it takes significantly more time, money, and thought than buying a loaf at the store, not to mention the mess. Despite the hassle, I do enjoy it, and I can think of a few good lessons that having a hobby can teach me. Namely: the body matters.

First, what is a hobby? If you Google it, you’ll get a slew of definitions about various unrelated things – such as hobby horses – as well as, “An activity that one enjoys doing in one’s spare time; An auxiliary activity.” I don’t think this definition really fits our purposes here, because I wouldn’t classify watching TV, scrolling social media, or even hanging out with friends as hobbies. I do enjoy those things, and I don’t do them at work (yes, my boss reads these), but they feel qualitatively different from making my sourdough. Oftentimes I watch TV or scroll social media simply to disengage my brain a little. And I enjoy spending time with friends, which helps build good communion, but I certainly would not call it a “hobby” per se. I would propose a better definition of a hobby as, “A skill, learned and practiced, for leisure.”

We could list a few other examples of hobbies besides breadmaking. Woodworking teaches us how to craft different useful items. Painting teaches us to appreciate and create beauty. Even watching movies can become a hobby, when we endeavor to think critically about the films we watch.

So why pursue a hobby? Because it’s good for us. God designed us with curiosity, creativity, and ambition. He didn’t just give us the natural world to live in; He challenged us to master it. He designed our bodies in such a way that we feel most alive when we push the limits of our knowledge or ability. We often find God in our struggles to grow as people, and hobbies help expose us to small struggles in order to learn more about the world and God. These minor struggles help us to exercise virtues in controlled settings. We can also partake in the act of creation in a small way when we use our God-given creativity to make something new.

Hobbies can also help our health. By engaging our minds and bodies in a challenging process, we exercise them in a way that helps maintain our mental and physical health. Oftentimes, people use hobbies to replace bad habits or to channel their energy into something productive, instead of something destructive like excessive drinking. 

So, if you find yourself spending most of your time inactive, bored, or binging TV, try picking up a hobby. You never know what God wants to teach you through small, seemingly insignificant activities.

Sourdough baking can be a hassle, but it has its rewards!

Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.

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