Ampersand Answers: Interest

Interest is the most important thing in life:

happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous.

Georgia O’Keeffe

The Question: 

How can I follow what interests me?  

&mpersand Answers:  

The other thing about interest that I find fascinating is that interest, in itself, is neutral. It arrives on a scale, too. Sometimes we’re mildly interested in things; others, avidly. That’s dependent upon a zillion variables which, for the most part, boil down to: what feeds your soul. 

One of the ways in which people age too quickly is by losing interest in the world around them. It’s a vital skill to cultivate. Stay interested! 

And, delightfully, it doesn’t matter what you’re interested in. Anything will do. My grandfather was an avid fly fisherman. He was always reading the latest, or oldest out-of-print, treatise on the great art that made fly fishing so satisfying to him. 

Me? You can pretty much be guaranteed that at any given time, I’m reading something for pleasure, but also something for learning. I’ve been a better student since I left school than I ever was in school, despite my awesome grades. 

So what interests you, Belovèd? Pursue it diligently. 

P. S. Interest has another meaning altogether, of course, and that is as what gets paid as a result of investment. Think of your interest in a subject as investment, and see what dividends it yields.  

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