I know that for most of us, when we think about passion we immediately imagine some hot, young lover whisking us away to a tropical island paradise, ripping our clothes off and making mad passionate love to us until we have to beg him to stop. Nothing wrong with that, but that’s just one facet of this evocative word’s meaning. We all remember when we allowed ourselves to be swept away by sexual ardor to the point where little if anything else mattered. I know, it was fun, but I’ll wager that few of you’d want to go back there.
I’m not talking about the red hot abandon that inevitably sent us on a tumultuous roller coaster ride and left us exhausted and spent. But an authentic passion that’s more like a slow, sustained burn that will energize our lives. Authentic passion is the spark that we feel when we’ve found our true expression, be it trying out an exotic new recipe, breaking track on freshly fallen snow, spearheading a campaign against drunk driving, playing with a grandchild, getting covered in clay as you throw a pot, raising money to end world hunger, discovering hidden treasure in a second-hand store. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you take your passion and make it happen.
What does having passion in your life mean to you? Obviously, each of us must discover this for ourselves. But if we’re going to remain vital and continue to kick ass, and I know you intend to, we need a healthy dose of passion coursing through our veins. We must live our lives fully.
“Several months ago a friend, who is an artist asked if I’d take a weekend class called Welding for Women,” Peggy, a 52-year-old financial planner, said. “I’d never done anything like it before, but I thought it might be fun. The first day I was completely intimidated by the equipment, especially the torches. We had to wear a helmet with a small window of tinted glass that we would flip down over our face to protect our eyes. This made it difficult to see what we were doing.
“We collected scraps from the yard and practiced tacking pieces together. By the second day, look out. I was into it. Once I got the hang of using the torches, I loved the fire. I loved using the grinder, where sparks flew as I burnished and ground pieces of steel, and the hammers, where I could pound molten metal into different shapes. I became fire woman. It was so much fun. Who’d have ever thought of such a thing? But it felt so great to play. I felt like a kid who had just learned to ride a bike. I returned home from the weekend with a renewed sense of energy and aliveness. Am I going to give up my day job to become a welder? Not anytime soon. But it made me realize how wonderful it is to do things that are totally out of the ordinary.”
Come on, baby, light your fire. What do you need to ignite the passion in your life, to bring back that childlike sense of wonder? Is it a set of pastel crayons, a new pair of running shoes, a clipboard and a stack of pledge forms, a copper bottomed pot? Whatever it is, get it. Indulge yourself. We need to prime our creative pump. This is especially important for those of us whose wild girl never had a chance to fully express herself as a child.
As we begin to honor our wild self, she’ll gain strength. But we must promise that we’ll never again ignore or betray her. This is essential. She must know that we will acknowledge and honor her. No, I’m not suggesting that you indulge your every whim, but that you create space in your life for greater self-expression, fun and creativity. If you’re not living a passionate life what are you waiting for? As novelist Nikos Kazantzakis wrote, “Leave nothing for death to take, nothing but a few bones.”
About The Author
Stephanie is an acclaimed speaker and author. She speaks from experience.
Stephanie is the "go to" expert for those seeking to create quality driven
lives. She is the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul's Life Lessons for
Women: 7 Essential Ingredients for a Balanced Life, If Not Now, When? For more
information please visit her website: www.stephaniemarston.com
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