Is life better when you have a variety of cultural interests?

[OnceaReaderNeveraReader]

Stemming from my previous post about books, I started thinking whether "cultural" interests (for lack of a better word) actually make our lives better. I don't enjoy reading and never have but I do love music, art and dance and I find these enrich my life enough. I do however wonder whether life would be equally as good without having any interests or hobbies. Do you or anyone you know live a life with no additional interests or hobbies? I realise my mum is like that. Everything she does is a duty and has no interests whatsoever outside of reading her weekly magazine. I wonder how her life would have been enriched if she had the willingness and ability to enlarge her horizons a bit more. By that I don't just mean fancy art or niche music, even just things like cooking and experimenting with food or anything really!

My professional training and personal experience suggest that people need balance between things they "have to do" and things they "want to do" to have a good quality of life. If, for your mum, "duty" is something that she views as both having to do and wanting to do, then that's OK. I can't imagine living this sort of life myself, though.

To answer your question directly, yes, of course it is! Almost goes without saying.

This probably sounds unkind but I find people that don't have any of these interests a bit empty and soulless for want of a better word. Not that it makes someone a bad person necessarily and it could be out of their control but I don't find them easy company.

I don’t know. I think my life is infinitely better for loving music, theatre, yes and reading. But I never choose animal/bird based activities - presumably dog lovers or birdwatchers or zoo visitors love what they do. I shouldn’t think I’m measurably happier than your mum because I like visiting my local museum, but I would be less happy myself if I couldn’t do it.

I used to have cultural interests but now I have 3 kids, 2 dogs and a full time job, I don't have any time or energy for them! Does this make me soulless?

Definitely hobbies and interests can enrich your life and make you more interesting as you have more to occupy yourself and more to talk about than what your neighbours get up to or what’s on tv or your conversation only revolves around your children.

There’s a sense of achievement and enjoyment when you have interests and hobbies - even if it’s just learning a new crochet stitch. They can also be very social - a book-club, an outing to the theatre with friends, meeting new people at a hobby class. A hobby can occupy your mind when you’re stressed or might feel a little lonely.

You don’t need to be very knowledgable about art to go to an art gallery, you can just stroll around looking at the various pieces, forming opinions on what you like and don’t and why, etc. Same with museums and theatres. Local theatre groups can be just as good as more professional performances. Stretches your mind, keeps the brain active.

I wonder if your mum gets pleasure/ feels enriched by some of the things that are or seem like work. For example, I used to walk to work an hour each way and loved the time spent outdoors, listening to an audiobook or music. Technically I was commuting to work and I could also say I was saving money on petrol/ public transport. When I started working from home I had to incorporate the walk just for pleasure, so now it is more clearly something I do out of choice and only to enrich me.

Listening to the radio while washing up? Doing the crossword in her magazine? Any programmes she enjoys on TV?

I think human beings need stimulation. However what form that takes is personal to the individual. Your mum might get adequate stimulation from her magazine articles, her chats with her neighbours, keeping up with what her family are doing, keeping her home nice, or however she sounds her days. Going to listen to music or view art may not resonate with her at all.

The people I know who have few cultural interests or hobbies are very eager to fill their life with social activities. For some people other people and socialising with them are everything and enough.

I agree. Take music lessons, I hated them as a child, it was a duty I had to carry out (when I could have been outside playing with my friends). Now I love listening to people play the piano, there is no chore there at all. Same with chemistry, hated it at a-level, now I enjoy reading about it.

My mum is like yours OP, whereas I'm obsessed with travel. I think my life is much happier than hers, although she would hate to travel as she would find it extremely stressful. All she does is work and she seems to have built her whole life and identity around that. I'm the opposite.