The Importance of Passion

I want to talk to you for a minute.  Yes, you.  The working mom who is so frazzled she can’t see straight, the stay-at-home mom who just wants to pee alone, the wife who just wants to hear her husband say “thank you” or “I love you”, the single woman who just wants to feel needed.

Let’s talk about passion.
You wouldn’t know it unless I told you, but this wasn’t my post for today.  I had this whole 31 Days to Happy thing mapped out, planned and scheduled, then Tuesday happened.

Nothing horrible happened.  It was just another day in the life of me.  But I’d be doing everyone a disservice if I pretended that every single day of my life was sunshine and rainbows.  I have bad days, too.  I get down in the dumps sometimes.

Tuesday was a down-in-the-dumps-rain-on-my-parade-I’m-just-not-feeling-it kind of day.  I had to fight hard to put a smile on my face.  I had to give myself more than one pep talk in the women’s restroom at work.  Life is just that way sometimes.
As I sat on my sofa this past weekend, planning things out for the month of March, I kept hearing these whispers…over and over in the back of my mind, and the forefront of my heart.  Do you know what they said?

SIMPLIFY.

Over the past couple of days, I’ve allowed that thought to sit there in my head and in my heart…to really soak into my pores…and it’s gotten me here, to this post, to talk to you.

About passion.

Oscar Wilde said it best. [Tweet “”I am happy in my prison of passion.” – Oscar Wilde #31DaystoHappy @sweetteagrace”]

“But Kirsten, how the heck did you get ‘passion’ from ‘simplify’ and what does that have to do with me?”

I mentioned that Tuesday was a pity party day.  I was feeling overwhelmed with my never-ending to-do list, time committments and the like.  Then, like a smack in the forehead in one of those V8 commercials, it hit me.

By simplifying my stuff, my list, my committments….by simplifying my life, I’m able to focus more energy on my passions, thereby helping me to be happier!

Do you get it?!?!
Ok, now that we’ve established the connection between simplifying and passions, how can we develop our passions?

Well, do you even know what your passions are?  Some of you may shout from the rooftops a resounding “YES!!!”  Others?  Notsomuch.

A short story:  I’m almost 37 years old, and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.  If you had asked me about my future when I was in high school, I’d confidently tell you that, after graduation, I was going to the Coast Guard Academy, learn to fly F-16 Hornet Strike Fighters, then serve my time in the Coast Guard after earning a degree in Marine Biology.  I’d then move to Florida to work as the head trainer at Sea World, or live off the coast of Australia studying great white sharks.

And I meant every word.

Then life played a funny trick on me and gave me bad eye sight, keeping me out of the Academy and derailing my plans.

Ever since I was 18, I’ve been floating through life trying different jobs and tasks and have never really felt like any of it was for me.

Except being a wife.  Except being a mom.  Except writing.  Except creating.  Except story-telling.
Those are my passions.  No matter what else life throws my way, I will always love these things passionately.

It’s like my soul is ignited, the clouds part and angels sing!  Ok, that’s a bit much…but seriously, I really, really, really love these things.

But discovering your passion is about so much more than just loving something.  I also love to sing, but I can promise you that nobody, not even my momma, would pay to hear me sing.

In my own mind, here’s how I define passion:

– A task that fills your spirit with joy.
– Something you do that, while in the process, you are lost.  Time doesn’t exist.  The world disappears.  It’s just you and your passion.
– That “thing” you are known for.
– Something you’d do for free, just because you love it that much.
– Something that, by doing it, makes you want to do more of it.

That’s a start.

If you are still reading this post, thank you.  I know it’s lengthy, but it’s full of my heart, and I think some of you may need to hear it.

This isn’t a task you can just do.  It takes curating.

For now, though, I’d like to encourage you to start thinking about ways to simplify…to remove the clutter that takes up space in your home, your heart, and your mind, and figure out what absolutely has to stick around, and what can be removed.

When you make room by simplifying, now you can work on developing your passion.  Spend time doing what you love.  Immerse yourself in it.

If it’s being a mom, let the laundry sit and get on the floor with your kiddos.  Play with them, read to them, hug them and tell them how blessed you are to be their mom.

If it’s writing, grab a piece of paper and a pen, escape to any quiet place you can find, and just write.

My point is, we are all so busy doing that we forget to make time for fueling our passions.

Create your “prison of passion” as Oscar Wilde so eloquently put it, and find your happy.

If you aren’t familiar with 31 Days to Happy, it’s never to late to participate!  Get the details and follow along HERE.

Will you tell me in the comments below:
– What can you simplify in your life?
– What are you passionate about?