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Your Passion as Your Compass

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Have you ever been passionate about something in your life? When you place your attention there, how does it feel?

Have you ever kept yourself an arm’s length away from your passions, for whatever reason? How did that feel?

This simple exercise does a great job in illustrating the power of passion in our lives. What are you passionate about?

The word passion has several definitions. Let’s focus on, “ardent love, boundless enthusiasm, an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action”. This next definition is right on target for this article: “…a strong liking or enthusiasm for a subject or activity”.

Enthusiasm is another compelling word, from the Greek root theos, “…inspired or possessed by a god”. Entheos means “to be called by God” or “God within”.

Considering the history and power of these words, you can determine your own “true north” by noticing your passions. You can calibrate your life by noticing that your passions are pointing you in the right direction. It’s your own internal navigation system, a personal guidance system built around your passions, your internal compass.

There are two kinds of people when it comes to pursuing passions with enthusiasm:

(1) People who aren’t and wish they were.
(2) People who do incorporate their passions into their lives, and are glad they do.

Pause a moment and take a good look at the subjects or activities you are passionate about. Here are some clues to help you spot them:

What gives you the greatest joy?

What gives you the greatest feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment when you put your attention there?

What activity makes time stand still for you?

What activity makes time fly by incredibly fast?

Whatever it is, write it down and look at it. Ask yourself, “How can I make more time in my life for this? How can I rearrange things in my life so this passion can have more of a central role? Can I find a job or start a business or get involved with charity work that allows me to be more involved with this passion?”

Why would you want to do that? Obviously, it’s fun. Time spent with your passion simply feels good. Through and through, inside out. Following your passion is a good way to be in sync with yourself . . . body, mind, emotions and spirit.

That great feeling you have when focusing on subjects and activities you are passionate about . . . is enthusiasm. And remember, that means “to be called by God” or “God within”. That seems like a good validation . . . a vote of confidence you are on the right track when you are pursuing your passions. It’s time well-spent.

“Passion is universal, humanity. Without it, religion, history,
romance, and art would be useless.” - Honore de Balzac (1799-1850)

“Yeah, but that’s not practical. You have to make a living”. (Does that sound like something you’d say to yourself? Or, do you have someone in you life to remind you of these things? We all do.) Making a living is definitely important, but is it more important than making a life?

Are your day-to-day activities done just to make a living, or to make the life you have always dreamed about? These are hard questions, especially when the answers make it clear that things need to change. Thoughts. Attitudes. Beliefs. Actions.

It is possible to do both. Make a living . . . and a life. It’s not necessarily easy, but it can be done. It takes dedication, discipline and a strong positive attitude. It takes a willingness to put in long hours and be patient. But it is worth it. Definitely worth it!

“Patience is passion tamed.” - Lyman Abbott

My wife, Janey, and I have been focusing our attention on building our life around our passions since we first got together in the mid-70’s. I’m sure you’ve heard the horror stories about trying to make a living as an artist or a musician. I can speak from experience that they are all true, because that’s exactly what we’ve been doing all these years. There have been lean years and bountiful years. Feast and famine. We’ve made a decent living but most importantly, we’ve made a fabulous life we are passionate about.

We pursue our music, art and other creative endeavors because it makes us feel good. Janey writes novels. I write songs. She designs and creates stained-glass art. I write articles, produce our CDs, and DVDs because it feels so right to get creative urges and then follow through. It seems like all we have to do is be a willing participant and these wonderful creative endeavors take on a life of their own. It’s a fascinating ride, always with unexpected directions and surprises.

“A genuine passion is like a mountain stream . . . it cannot go backward; it must go forward.” - C.N. Bovee

For us, these are the things that put us in the zone. Time stands still. What that usually means for us is we look up from our work and are amazed that so many hours have gone by. Whenever that happens, it’s obvious we’re passionate about whatever we’re doing.

At the end of the day, it feels gratifying knowing the day was spent (rather, invested) in our passion.

Passions Ignored?

There have been a few times through the years, for whatever reason, when I’ve temporarily put my passions on the back burner. At the end of those days, the feeling was not so good. Regret? Disappointment? Sadness? Whatever it’s called, it felt perfectly clear that ignoring passions was not the best way to create the best life. My internal compass was spinning and I was reeling.

Overload

Consider for a moment the dizzying array of choices we now have, in all areas of our lives. To put it in perspective, compare it to 100 years ago. 50 years ago. Only 20 years ago.

The media is constantly bombarding us with motivations to go in a thousand different directions. Places we should go. Things we should do. (And especially things we should buy!)

For the first time in human history, the sky isn’t even the limit anymore. Science and technology have made it possible for us to go anywhere, do anything, be anyone. How can we possibly cut through all the clutter? There is so much noise, how do we know which choice is right for us? Can our inner compass steer us true through this minefield of distraction and diversion?

“Now it’s happening every moment, far too big to see,
It’s all too much . . . to do it all, so passion is the key,
It’s a question of perspective, alive to pick and choose,
It’s where we aim our focus that brings it all into view.”
- from the song, “Way of the World” by Tupelo Kenyon

Do it Now . . . (Always!)

If your intent is to live a satisfying life . . . an inspired life . . . an inspiring life . . . an exemplary life . . . first clearly define your passions. Don’t ignore them. Don’t put them off for later. Don’t save them for when you have more money or more time, or for when you retire. That may be too late. Don’t set yourself up for regret by justifying your procrastination. I’m sure you’ve got perfectly plausible sounding reasons why you are not living a more passionate life, but who are you trying to convince? You’re the one losing out.

“Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they’re yours.” – Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

After you’ve got your passions clearly defined, orchestrate them into your life. Step by step, a little at a time or all at once. Whatever works for you. Just begin and do it. Your passions are your North Star, your internal guidance system pointing you in the direction of your best life. Live it.

While reading, did you choose to hear the relaxing instrumental music linked at the beginning of this article? To learn more about it, click here.

Listen FREE to the songs below . . . chosen to enhance the ideas in this article.

Do What You Love Discovering what we have a true passion for, and then figuring out a way to build a life around that passion is one of life’s greatest feelings of accomplishment. http://www.somemusicmatters.com/DescHB.html#Anchor10 Soul in the Stars It feels good to try to see the bigger picture once in awhile,and to focus on gratitude for what we have, rather than the frustration of what we are lacking. http://www.somemusicmatters.com/DescHere.html#Anchor4 Way of the World Life is so huge . . . so diverse . . . the possibilities are literally infinite. What’s the best way to sort it all out and carve out a little niche of our own? http://www.somemusicmatters.com/DescX.html#Anchor1 Time of Our Lives Time is so fleeting, so elusive, it’s good to remember the importance and power of living right now. http://www.somemusicmatters.com/DescHere.html#Anchor7 Songs by Tupelo
Work - Just a Job or Visible Love Do you love what you do and do what you love? Here’s a step-by-step method on how to put your passions to work and start living the life you were born to live. How Do You Feel About Inner Guidance? Is it a hunch? Is it a voice in your head? Is it something you feel? Don’t confuse what you feel with who you are. Once you are able to access this awareness of pure being and identify yourself with it, you won’t get carried away by whatever emotional cloud happens to be passing by. Celebrate life through one of the more subtle forms of communication available to us - inner guidance. 10 Steps to Discovering Your Life’s Purpose Of all the self-help ideas I’ve come across through the years, this one has been the most helpful. For me, it’s been the Rosetta Stone of personal development techniques. After getting a handle on the idea of “purpose”, other areas of my life fell into place more easily. 10 Steps to Discovering Your Life’s Purpose Of all the self-help ideas I’ve come across through the years, this one has been the most helpful. For me, it’s been the Rosetta Stone of personal development techniques. After getting a handle on the idea of “purpose”, other areas of my life fell into place more easily. The Power of Beginning The most important part of any project is the beginning. Just begin and follow through and you will be amazed at the momentum. . The creative power of the universe responds by lining up the details to bring it into manifestation. Coincidences begin to occur. Your job is to choose and then begin. Articles by Tupelo

This is the end of the article entitled Your Passion as Your Compass published by Tupelo Kenyon on January 8, 2007 at 8:00 am | In Inner Guidance, Passion - Copyright 2007 - All rights reserved worldwide.