Living Simple: Do You Follow Your Passion?

I have been lucky in that I have followed my passions for a good many years. I was passionate about teaching and was rewarded with eighteen years in the classroom. I was passionate about hiking and mountain climbing and fed those passions for decades. Now I am passionate about writing and am able to follow that passion each and every day.

But is it luck that has led me on these journeys, or is there something inside of me that naturally drives me to follow my passions? Was I born this way, or was I raised to go for the gusto in life? Is this something that I trained myself to do?

I am not wise enough to know the answers to those questions. I know that my parents encouraged me to aim higher. I know that there is a wanderlust inside of me that makes me seek out and not sit back wishing that I had. I know that there is a devil-may-care attitude that has always been there, allowing me to take risks that others might find daunting. I suspect that luck had very little to do with it, and attitude played a much bigger part in my shaping.

Learning to live simple is greatly facilitated by a proper attitude. It is looking at the status quo and asking if this is how I want to live, or is there more? Life is too short to just settle….life should be lived with gusto each and every day. There are some for whom this philosophy comes naturally. There are others, sadly, who have never embraced this way of life, who always seem to be on the outside looking in, wishing instead of doing.

So ask yourself this question: what are you passionate about? Somewhere deep inside each of us there is a passion. Do you know what yours is, and if so, are you following it?

It would seem to be a very simple question, but do you have an answer? What is your passion? What are you passionate about? For some, the answer will be parenting, and if there is a more noble answer I do not know what it would be. If this is your answer then bust down doors, knock down mountains, do anything you have to do to be the best parent you can be.

Some would say their job, and I can certainly understand this. As I mentioned before, I have followed my passion in teaching and writing, and I have been greatly fulfilled because of it. I have also worked some jobs that had nothing to do with passion. The difference between the two is like night and day; one pays the bills while the other feeds the soul. I know which one I will choose for the remainder of my years.

Some would say they have a hobby that feeds their passion, as it was for me with hiking and climbing. I found that I was able to stimulate my senses so much during weekends while on the trails that it was enough to get me through a work week filled with banal duties.

Well, that is sad, isn’t it? I don’t believe this is an isolated occurrence at all. I look around me during my daily interaction with people and I see many….many….who have no light in their eyes. Life has delivered an uppercut to them, and they are staggering and waiting (expecting?) for the next blow to be delivered. They wake up each morning and go about the business of existing, and the same scene is visited each and every day.

The business of existing! In this case I am a very lucky man, because I was not born into abject poverty. I had opportunities and because of those opportunities I had a fighting chance from the very beginning. However, there are many out there who cannot see beyond the necessities of breathing in and breathing out. To speak to them about passions is to speak in a foreign tongue.

What is that old saying….”In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.” That is how I feel as I look out over the economic landscape and realize just how fortunate I am. I cannot imagine not having a passion about life and yet there are millions who barely remember the definition of passion..

So for the purposes of this article we will set aside those who are incapable of following their passions because of horrible hardships.

Rather, we will concentrate on those hundreds of millions who are simply not passionate about life and really have no excuse. They work long hours, run many errands, chase their tails and at the end of the day wonder if this is all there is to life.

Somewhere along life’s back roads these people have wandered off the beaten path, and now they are roaming in search of that which is missing, but they don’t know the nature of that thing. They know something is missing….they can feel the hollowness inside of them….but if you were to ask them what is the nature of that void they would be unable to answer.

The love of my life, Bev by name, is passionate about everything. You think I jest? She is passionate about the weather, nature, children, her family, and animals. She is passionate about the smell of a flower, the touch of a loved one, and the taste of green tea. Simply by being around her daily, I have become more passionate about everyday life, and for that I am grateful, because she has opened my eyes to unlimited possibilities.

Now I fully understand that Bev is on one end of the passion spectrum, an anomaly in today’s world, so trying to emulate her passion might be a fool’s mission. However, for the many out there who live with no passions, I guess my question to you is why? What is holding you back?

I am convinced that one of the greatest obstacles to living a life of passion is fear. Being passionate requires commitment and life change, and a great many people fear those. Besides fear I believe we can also toss in complacency, sloth, timidity and a lack of believe in oneself.

So instead of facing all of those personal obstacles, many choose to just ride it all, put in their time, and then shuffle off to the retirement living facility and await the end, having only experienced a small portion of their potential.

Life is not getting any shorter. I hate to be the one to break this news to you, but we have a limited amount of time here on Earth, and time should not be wasted. We all get so busy in our daily lives, and the days turn into months and the months into years and then we look back over the landscape of our lives and wonder where it all has gone. Where did the dreams go to? What happened to the desire and the burning in our guts, and the willingness to soar with the birds and howl at the moon?

Are you passionate about life, and if you aren’t, why aren’t you? What are you waiting for? There are of course limitations that we all must deal with, but self-imposed bars can be torn down, and to truly enjoy life they must be torn down.

Live simple…..live passionate…..live your dreams and don’t settle for less!

2012 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)