My partner and I started birdwatching together during COVID as this peaceful thing we could share, but now it's turned into this weird competition where they're always correcting my identifications and keeping lists of who spotted what first. We used to just sit quietly together and enjoy whatever showed up, and now every outing feels like I'm being graded on a test I didn't know I was taking.
More people experience this than they realize.
The very practice meant to cultivate patience and wonder together has become a performance of expertise that's killing the joy.
“Where Are You with Birdwatching as practice?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.