What separates People with passion from people without it?
The main difference between people with passion is Focus. People with passion are focused on their area of passion and all kinds of other activities, thoughts, and pursuits are related to their passion. It is a driving force for their work and creativity. It is as if they hold a vision of the best playing out or fulfillment of their passion and are constantly, in large and small ways, working towards that fulfillment. It is an organizing force for activity and thought and identity. A person can derive a sense of identity from their passions. Their strong drives and desires define them. It can give them a sense of direction and purpose. Conversely, a person who holds their purpose with certainty, also follows their passion. A sense of identity comes from the passions you hold strongly. Just as your opinions define who you are in part, so do your passions. What you love, what you desire, what you strive for, are all defining elements of your self.
A person who leaps from one passion to another seems to lack depth. Their passions, although held strongly with an emotional vibrance, are not held enduringly, and so seem to be superficial. Passions grow from pondering and comparing. One compares the object of passion with its opposite in order to define it and to know it.
How are passion and purpose related?Passion is the fuel that drives you towards your Purpose. If you have passion for your vision or your purpose, you have the emotional energy to overcome obstacles, to persevere, you have the courage of your convictions, you have the ‘fire in the belly’, to use a cliché.
Write down your desires, and instead of repressing them as impossible dreams, begin expressing them constructively through deciding which ones are priorities for now, which ones are priorities for later, and which ones are strongly held and which ones have a weaker sense of attraction for you. Just make a list of things you love. You can have a lot of fun with this, thinking of things you love. There are so many neat, fantastic, simply wonderful things in the world. I love the first snowfall, I love the colors of leaves in the fall, I love my dog when she jumps up on my knees to get me to play. I love a hot cup of tea, popovers and scones fresh from the oven. I love laying in bed on a rainy morning with tea, my beanbag and a good book. I love the light at twilight. The wind coming from the lake, the sound of waves lapping the shore, the feeling of sand on your toes, or warm sand under the towel you are laying on. I love a good icy cold gin and tonic, the first margarita of the summer, a cold glass of wine in front of the fireplace. I love Fridays. I love snuggling into crisp, 400 thread count sheets with a hot beanbag on a cold winter’s evening. I love the sound of snow crunching under your boots in the dark night when you are taking the dog for a walk. I love the feeling of ice crystals on your face when you are walking on glacier in a snowstorm. Snowstorms in general are very passionate weather. I love walking in a blizzard in Alberta, braving the elements and feeling the invigoration of being fully alive that comes with the safety of reaching the warmth of a cozy home. What do you love?
Monday, September 15, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Passion to me is…
Feeling excited to be alive, being in the moment, grateful for even breathing, being grateful for breath, for the solidness and sensibility of my body and its' abilities, for the thrill of experiencing tastes of succulent fruit, savory stews, and cookies, and chocolate. Passion is being open to feel, being mindful in the moment so that you are aware of what you are feeling. Passion is being driven to realize your intention. Passion is loving all the things you love with intensity and freedom, without reserve, without fear, without censorship. Passion is a deep sense of commitment to a cause, an injustice, or a group. Passion is what drives you to keep persevering, to keep your eye on the vision. It is the feeling that motivates you to continue despite challenges. Passion is the sense of being fully alive, vibrant with life.
I think this paraphrased quote from Randy Revell is appropriate to describe the role of passion in life: "Your purpose on this earth is to live as big as you are. To be who you fully are, to express yourself in a big way."
Feeling excited to be alive, being in the moment, grateful for even breathing, being grateful for breath, for the solidness and sensibility of my body and its' abilities, for the thrill of experiencing tastes of succulent fruit, savory stews, and cookies, and chocolate. Passion is being open to feel, being mindful in the moment so that you are aware of what you are feeling. Passion is being driven to realize your intention. Passion is loving all the things you love with intensity and freedom, without reserve, without fear, without censorship. Passion is a deep sense of commitment to a cause, an injustice, or a group. Passion is what drives you to keep persevering, to keep your eye on the vision. It is the feeling that motivates you to continue despite challenges. Passion is the sense of being fully alive, vibrant with life.
I think this paraphrased quote from Randy Revell is appropriate to describe the role of passion in life: "Your purpose on this earth is to live as big as you are. To be who you fully are, to express yourself in a big way."
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Passion vs. mediocrity
What happens if you don't find your passion? What if you never did? I thought i would write about the absence of passion to juxtapose the opposite scenario. If I were in my Rocking Chair at the end of my life and I looked back and had to say to myself, Cheryl, you never really found your passion, What would that feel like?
I suppose the best word that would capture it would be wasted. I would feel quite bereft that this wonderful opportunity, this window of light in an eternity of darkness, stayed dark and was never lit with that spark of inspiration, that creative illumination, that enlightenment of genius. It is too difficult to even imagine. To have lived a life of bland mediocrity, to not have tasted and smelled, to not have seen or felt. Even one minute of living with passion for life is enough to illuminate an entire expanse of darkness. There is so much of life to be passionate about, how could one miss it? Even to look about, to cast one's glance with mindfulness, at the one square foot of real estate directly surrounding one's body is to be entranced with the beauty and genius of each moment, each object as it represents advances in thought or creativity. A life without the ability to perceive the magic of each moment is a life bereft of imagination, a life adrift in a sea of gray, granular sameness. All you need is appreciation and gratitude to experience passion.
I suppose the best word that would capture it would be wasted. I would feel quite bereft that this wonderful opportunity, this window of light in an eternity of darkness, stayed dark and was never lit with that spark of inspiration, that creative illumination, that enlightenment of genius. It is too difficult to even imagine. To have lived a life of bland mediocrity, to not have tasted and smelled, to not have seen or felt. Even one minute of living with passion for life is enough to illuminate an entire expanse of darkness. There is so much of life to be passionate about, how could one miss it? Even to look about, to cast one's glance with mindfulness, at the one square foot of real estate directly surrounding one's body is to be entranced with the beauty and genius of each moment, each object as it represents advances in thought or creativity. A life without the ability to perceive the magic of each moment is a life bereft of imagination, a life adrift in a sea of gray, granular sameness. All you need is appreciation and gratitude to experience passion.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Mentors and Models for a Passionate Life
Long drives are wonderful for allowing quiet think time for reminiscing, problem solving, daydreaming, and planning. I had a 10 hour drive this week, both there and back, so my mind has been filled with lots of wonderful thoughts, and particularly because I have been fousing on Finding your Passion and because it is the 10th year anniversary of my Mother’s death, these two things came together in my mind. I realized that my Mom was a wonderful role model for me in terms of passionate living, because she herself was a very passionate person. At a certain age, I found that aspect of her personality to be embarrassing and ‘uncouth’, thinking that other people would be judging her as overly emotional and not politically correct, or whatever the term of the day was for repressing your true feelings. How I got to be such a ‘stick in the mud’ at such an early age, I haven’t thought about before, but it was probably during the time of my own adolescence that I was making these judgments, the time when image is all important and any expression of emotion is unacceptable. When I look at the reminiscences from my current mental window, I still called it ‘being quite upset’. But if I reconsider that, it was actually an occurrence that she felt strongly about, and was speaking her mind on the topic. How else are we going to effect change? How else are we going to be instrumental in our own lives if we are not motivated by passion and strongly felt emotion? These are powerful motivating forces, driving us to act when complacency dulls our senses and makes us into the quiet slaves of mediocracy.
Mom was very strong in her beliefs about certain things, and these two things definitely go together – passion and strongly held beliefs. My Grandfather was in the war and his lungs were damaged by nerve gas, to the extent that he suffered emphysema in his later years. Several of the sons and daughters-in-law continued to be ignorant of his discomfort and smoke in the house. Again, looking back, I wonder why he didn’t say anything himself, but if I recall correctly, he thought that they wouldn’t visit if they weren’t allowed to smoke in the house. What comment is that on how self-important and self-indulgent my relatives were at that time. Another thought on how we judge emotional expressions and label them as displays, or outbursts. But we must ask, if you don’t have the courage of your own convictions, who is going to speak for you?
On another occasion, my Grandmother was having her 80th or thereabouts birthday party and many relatives were camped in the yard, or visiting in clustered groups on the lawn and in and out of the house. It was a year when talk of Grandma’s health was focused on concerns about her not getting overly excited because she might be prone to congestive heart failure. Ironically, my Grandmother is still alive 20 or more years later, and my Mom has passed away. However, during the lull between meals, a water-fight broke out between several of my uncles. Now, these are probably 60 year old men, thinking and feeling like young boys, running and slipping, bumping into things, yelling and creating, albeit hilarious mayhem, but mayhem nonetheless. At what must have been the crescendo of activity and ultimately, in my Mom’s perception, danger, she stood on the deck with her arms outstretched like Moses and yelled at the top of her voice “STOP”. A powerful act, as it turned out, everyone did stop and settle into less heady celebrations. Probably some were miffed, some were relieved and some were complacent, but the act on my Mother’s part, was to control and effect a whole group of overly excited adults because she decided to take action.
This is perhaps not a momentous example, but as our every day actions determine our future and speak to our character, Mom acted passionately on her belief that her own mother was in danger. How many times do we look the other way when we see something happening that is against what we believe in, ignore the signs in front of us, shuffle away and hope it will resolve itself without us getting involved? It is the everyday where we test ourselves and what we are made of. The small actions of courage that are met with success will lead us to take on greater challenges with more confidence and conviction.
Mom was very strong in her beliefs about certain things, and these two things definitely go together – passion and strongly held beliefs. My Grandfather was in the war and his lungs were damaged by nerve gas, to the extent that he suffered emphysema in his later years. Several of the sons and daughters-in-law continued to be ignorant of his discomfort and smoke in the house. Again, looking back, I wonder why he didn’t say anything himself, but if I recall correctly, he thought that they wouldn’t visit if they weren’t allowed to smoke in the house. What comment is that on how self-important and self-indulgent my relatives were at that time. Another thought on how we judge emotional expressions and label them as displays, or outbursts. But we must ask, if you don’t have the courage of your own convictions, who is going to speak for you?
On another occasion, my Grandmother was having her 80th or thereabouts birthday party and many relatives were camped in the yard, or visiting in clustered groups on the lawn and in and out of the house. It was a year when talk of Grandma’s health was focused on concerns about her not getting overly excited because she might be prone to congestive heart failure. Ironically, my Grandmother is still alive 20 or more years later, and my Mom has passed away. However, during the lull between meals, a water-fight broke out between several of my uncles. Now, these are probably 60 year old men, thinking and feeling like young boys, running and slipping, bumping into things, yelling and creating, albeit hilarious mayhem, but mayhem nonetheless. At what must have been the crescendo of activity and ultimately, in my Mom’s perception, danger, she stood on the deck with her arms outstretched like Moses and yelled at the top of her voice “STOP”. A powerful act, as it turned out, everyone did stop and settle into less heady celebrations. Probably some were miffed, some were relieved and some were complacent, but the act on my Mother’s part, was to control and effect a whole group of overly excited adults because she decided to take action.
This is perhaps not a momentous example, but as our every day actions determine our future and speak to our character, Mom acted passionately on her belief that her own mother was in danger. How many times do we look the other way when we see something happening that is against what we believe in, ignore the signs in front of us, shuffle away and hope it will resolve itself without us getting involved? It is the everyday where we test ourselves and what we are made of. The small actions of courage that are met with success will lead us to take on greater challenges with more confidence and conviction.
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