Zen as a hobby

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I was reading a weekly profile in today's local paper and as usual I was enjoying the answers to a variety of stock questions that are always asked ... name, relations, work, pets, movies, etc. And when it came to Sarah Briggs' hobbies, I read this:

Hobbies: Yoga, Zen meditation and vegetarian cooking...

 I had to look up the word "hobby." One of the definitions referred to an activity done outside of work. And maybe that's what Sarah meant.

But Zen as a "hobby?" I'm not against thinking of it that way. It just strikes me as strangely blithe... sort of like referring to Mt. Everest as "that hill over there." I just couldn't quite get my mind around it ... which was clearly my problem, not Sarah's.

Who knows -- maybe it should be a hobby ... something serious but not that serious; something occasioning a pleasant attentiveness.

I don't know. I didn't feel offended or critical ... just couldn't imagine what Sarah might have meant.

Oh well ....
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