Finding our passion and living it. Why does that so challenge, and yes, even frighten us? Have we become so deadened that living passionately isn’t even on our radar? Have we been conditioned to bury or kill our desire? Is desire and passion good or bad?
Perhaps a starting point would be to look at how we are feeling when we have some event or activity coming up that we are really looking forward to. Say a vacation, wedding, new job. We start thinking and planning towards it. The time and energy we expend on the planning and dreaming doesn’t exhaust us, at least we don’t begrudge it.
Another would be when we are really hoping for something. Like a young child hoping for that special something at Christmas. Or a young man, preparing to ask his girl friend to marry him and hoping she will say “Yes”. The excitement, impatience, even desperation. They are engaged in the process!!! Alive and excited.
I’ve come to believe that hope, desire, and passion aren’t just niceties, but essential for us. They are for me. If we don’t have something to look forward to, to be actively involved with, we wither away. At least I did. I had just started marking time, waiting to die and go home to Jesus. Christ’s promise of bringing life and wanting me to have it abundantly… nope, didn’t compute and that actually was a wake-up for me.
I realized my dream had died. Whether I’d let it die or let someone kill it, well, it was dead. Once I realized that, the question came of did I want to resurrect it, find a new one or some combination. That was September 2007 and it began a quest to come alive. As I’ve visited my heart and started really listening to what are my heart’s desires, life has become more interesting and exciting. Certainly not predicable but worth it. Still scary but more the excitement kind of scary than terror kind. Since God says to “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart”. So there are good desires, ones that God placed in our heart. Seeking God to know them is so worth it.
I’m coming to realize that what the world needs from me isn’t a new business or venture but for me to be fully alive, living my passion and giving of myself to others. So I will.
If there is interest, I can share more about this journey I’m on.
Tags: desire · dream · excited · heart · life · living my passion · passion1 Comment
Hi Donald,
I enjoyed this blog a lot. As you know, I can much relate to this one. I think your points are right on. I am still searching (in all the right and all the wrong places, too). I decided that I could not wait to find what was my calling in life, but that instead I needed to start something and figure it out from there. It’s been a journey, not without struggles, but overall enjoyable. Moving, even in the wrong direction, gets energy flowing, and that definitely helps. Also, I believe that only oneself can kill one’s dream. Others may chisle away at our dreams (often haphazardly or unawares), but it is not dead until we proclaim it so ourselves. I listened to your kind advice and am working on making the journey of uncovering my dreams again a pleasant one.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Kerstin