How does a quick habit turn into a new life?

I'm thinking how wonderful it is for thought processes to finally open up again.Though frankly, the timing could have been better... It started off innocently enough. One last check on FB before I head off to bed. 40 min later, my head is spinning, trying to remember how I fell down this rabbit hole, and annoyed that I have no time to continue to enjoy this wonderment. It will be saved, and with the best of intentions. But it won't be the same.

I went from seeing my friend thanking people for her birthday wishes. To the side, a pic of her and another friend. A click on that pic took me to the album it was part of, titled "30 day challenge". I vaguely recall that starting, but a few quick clicks isn't telling me much. So I open a new tab, and google search it. A few clicks later, and I have my answer. Bookmark that, as it sounds interesting enough to try. Might push me into practicising a bit more...

Things get fuzzy here, but somehow, that same google search also brought up something that I clicked on, with a whisper of a curiousity... And a few clicks later, I'm looking at beautiful photography. The kind that makes you stop and stare, breathing blending into the background. The part of you that engages in greed is thirsting for more, like a dog straining at the end of his leash, but you somehow manage to stop and savour the beauty in front of you.

Eventually giving in to that pull that has become a tug, and a few clicks later, I find myself staring at more stunning photos, many being landscapes - my favourite - and others that while are perhaps not my type of photo, are still stunning, and even as a novice I can tell that they are at the top of their class (like how I understand Stephen King is a great author, though I'm not a fan of his genre). These photos are covers of ebooks available, different topics and aspects of photography. How to better eye up a scene, how to capture the raw beauty in a Canadian winterscape, or nighttime shots, or finding inspiration in your own backyard.

The pragmatic, logical, cynical thoughts come up. Too good to be true, or there's a catch, or something. To start reading the reviews, and to discover that this is a joint effort from many different photographers. Another tab opened, and a google search, and from a first glance, this seems legit.

All I can do is stare at wonderment. And then wish my clock did not tell the time it does, because it means if I stay up much later, I will be an absolute bear at work, requiring crazy amounts of caffeine and sugar to keep going through the day. To quote a friend - ironically the same one who's album started me down this hole - le sigh.

I've managed to live most of my life so far without feeling much of a passion for anything. Interest, yes, of course. My book collection can attest to that. But a desire to gobble up every morsel of information on a subject, no. And I get the feeling this is only a stirring, a build up. I suspect my favourites list will be growing even more, and I wonder how I will find the time to pursue all this. Hopefully as this tidal wave comes in, it will bring with it enough energy as well. And while finding myself staring at this new path, shaking with fear at this new unknown, it feels oddly right, and something I look forward to.