I was looking at our collection of American Indian art today and realized that while collecting the pieces used to be a hobby it no longer fits that definition because we are selling now, not buying. I also knew that the dictionary defines “hobby” as something done for pleasure in your spare time. So I wondered if having a cup of hot tea and a chocolate chip cookie everyday can be considered a hobby.

Naturally, I had to go online and check around about hobbies. My conclusion is that we need a new word for hobbies. There was more than one site that had people writing in to discuss this topic and there was no final agreement on a definition.

At first, I thought maybe if you collect something, it would automatically mean that you had a hobby. However, how do you separate hobby from obsession? Collection can become an obsession. Well maybe you obsessively collect?

My husband and I used to know a rare coin dealer and he said that he made a study of collectors and found that some people collect for fun and others for profit. But if you are a for-fun collector, you’ll collect anything and it will be a hobby.

I’m wondering if collectors are not just born that way. When I was a kid I collected glass dogs and pieces carved in wood and beautiful rocks. I have two grandsons and one has been collecting toy cars since he was old enough to know anything about them. Our other grandson doesn’t collect anything. Maybe three examples are not enough for a decision.

What my husband and I found to be most interesting when we started collecting the Indian pieces is that there is an organization for collecting or doing just about anything that might be considered a hobby. We were in our Thirties before we discovered the world of American Indian Art, and it’s a huge world.

By the way, you should consider making a trip to New Mexico, where I live, because it is such an interesting place and a heart of American Indian art. If you’re not familiar with it, there’s lots of information on the internet. It’s a great place to bring kids on a trip. I’ve lived here for sixteen years now and really love it.

It would be fun to know what you consider your hobbies to be. It’s easy to make your comments right here on this page. Maybe playing around on the internet is considered a hobby. Works for me.

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