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What is your passion, and how did you find it?

Val

Val

Member
I am 42 years old now, and I feel as if I have lived my life for others. I don't have a strong passion for anything. I wish I did, because it would give the life I am living now more meaning. Instead I feel as if I am just putting in my time.

I have had a hard life as far as marrige and financial security goes, but I have a close bond with all three of my children, and I am not depressed.

I have interest, such as science, religion, and the occult, but I don't feel passionate enough to need to prove, or look for proof, about opinions I have formed on these subjects. For instance, I believe in reincarnation. I even have some vague memories, but I am not passionate enough about it to put much energy into finding out who I was. I just accept that "I was" and leave it at that.

My two daughters both have talents. The oldest one has a passion for writing, and she really excells in it. The younger one is a talented artist, and her passion for art is amazing. I am sometimes a bit envious of them. I just wish there was something I had a strong passion for.
 
Hi Val,


For me personally, I have many different passions. Most of them are rooted in physical activity, or in the Arts. From theatre, to ballet, to writing, to singing ,to my new passion (drawing), I feel like I am bringing something into being through creative energy - and expressing the most profound emotions of my soul in doing so.


Many of my interests have carried over from past lives. In some of those lifetimes I died before I could accomplish what I wanted, and in some of them I believe I was influenced by the people around me - things I'd seen, heard etc.

I feel as if I have lived my life for others.
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Perhaps because you've been so busy caring for others, you haven't had time to focus on - or develop your passions.


I'd suggest exploring "outside the box" and trying some new things. Take a class, write a story. Research a little -- see what's available to you and what piques your interest. I think sometimes we can be surprised what actually interests us when we explore options we normally wouldn't consider ;)


Best of luck,


Ailish
 
Mine is model railroading. Dates from when I was a kid and a friend pulled one out from under his bed. Track, trains,and buildings all set up on a piece of plywood. I was instantly hooked. Wasn't until much later I discovered I had been involved in the real thing in a PL.


I read once that one way to find hiden and buried passions is to ask yourself what you enjoyed doing as a child and to write down what it was that you liked about it.


Jack
 
Alish and jackh, thank you for the advice. I will apply it and see what happens.


As a child I had a passion for gymnastics and skating. We moved around alot, and my parents never had the money to get me involved in those sports, so I just practiced on my own at the school playground, or the local skating rink, whenever I could. I get the feeling I was involved in something similar to gymnastics in a privious life, maybe in ancient Greece. And I loved (and miss) the feeling of being able to do things physically that most people couldn't.


But now my body will no longer support these activities, (well the gymnastics anyway, I can still skate, but not nearly as well.) so now I enjoy reading, but I don't feel as if I am accomplishing anything. For the last 22 years I have focused on my husband and children. I have put all my interest and desires on a back burner and put them first, so now I am frustrated.


As for taking classes, I have an AA degree, but I have no idea what I want, or can, do with it. I thought about getting a BA degree, but at this time, even with financial aid, I can't afford to go back to school.


So now I will think introspectivly and figure out what I enjoy doing, and how I can apply it toward accomplishing something.


It sounds like you both have fun, interesting passions. I just need to find mine.
 
Passions and our interests in life can be put to sleep by life. One of the things I have started doing is an indepth study of my own life(s) starting about 1700 years ago from the view point of what karma did I gain or even out and how did it affect my next life(s). It is a study of my reactions after I am off this world and studing the affects and how I handled it. What I did about it or attempted to do about it in the next.


I have found 3 things to be very true at least in my case...


1. 99% of the people I have met in this life I have known previously.


2. The way I react to things emothionally and physicaly are repitions of how I have been reacting for most of that 1700 years. It has been refined over life times but a lot of it is the basicly the same.


3. The things that I am interested in now are things that caught my eye in other lives also.


I don't belive that the issue is to find new things to indulge in. Unless you are a relitively new soul you won't find many anyway. The idea I think is to pick something, anything and give it our best shot. It is how we treat those we deal with and ourselves while doing anything that is the real issue.


My 1/2 cents worth, Jack
 
Hello Val, I started this reply a while ago and as I was hitting send it went pooof... so here is the second version.


Searching for passion, for me, is as beautiful as finding it! The world is such a wide open and inviting school. As you travel through your life you'll hit moments of everything from doubt and sadness to exhilaration and joy...these are all items to direct you towards passion. Slow and notice them, savor them! Even those times of profound sadness.


I suggest you do some or all of the following as you search for passion: Read Mary Oliver's poem The Journey, or Stanley Kunitz's The Layers. Attend an Andrea Bocelli or Josh Groban concert. Go for long walks in rural areas. Take an adult-ed class in yoga, cooking, or painting. Attend every art museum within a 200 mile radius of your home. Volunteer at a senior center...play checkers. Learn a new language. Plant trees, houseplants or seeds of thought. Write a poem, then another (even if you can't!). Sing, dance, play, create! Somewhere in the midst you'll discover passion kneading your soul!


For me the greatest passion is the memory of a love centuries old. I can find her in every thought, every step and every breath. I see her while sitting on the sunset bench out back of the barn. She walks with me to the big hill east of the ranch. She makes me smile, she makes me cry....she makes me live for the day we'll dance under the harvest moon, on top of Blue Hill. Oh great joy, even with empty arms and sweltering heat...memories allow one to see the world in a sense of passion.... ya just gotta look, and again for me that is part of the joy.


Have a great day,


Tinkerman
 
It's been awhile. I have been very busy with love, life, running and my one true passion....


Writing.


I am working on my novel! I am having a great time just writing to my heart's content and feeling the joy of my character's telling me thier story...and I get to be the messenger.


This section is a nice little addition to the forum.
 
Inspirational


Tinkerman,


I appreciated your reply, and I checked out those poems. They were very inspirational and made me feel good just reading them.


Susie,


I loved they way you expressed your love of writing. You definatley showed talent in the way you displayed your emotions through the written word.


I really liked this part:


"and feeling the joy of my character's telling me thier story...and I get to be the messenger."
 
Jackh,


I really like what you said here:


"The idea I think is to pick something, anything and give it our best shot. It is how we treat those we deal with and ourselves while doing anything that is the real issue."


Although I think that "anything" should be something we can get emotionally involved in.


I also think that our basic reactions remain similar through out our many lifetimes, but as a child's attitudes develope and change as he/she grows up, our attitudes and reactions go through similar changes as we spiritually mature.
 
Maybe you're already doing it


Val,


Is it possible, without realizing it, your passion is helping others? Being of service, care givers and supportive people often don't think of what they do as important or worthy of notice. In fact, our world would be a barren place without such loving, giving souls.
 
Thank You


Don,


You comment does resonate with me, so maybe that is my life's mission this time around. Acknowledging this, I have to say that this path can be a very difficult one to follow at times, but it does have i'ts rewards; such as, I never really feel lonely. I feel I will always have the support and love of my three children, and this does bring a certain amount of security and contentment.


I realize that if I want more happiness and passion in my life, I am the only one that can make that happen for me. I believe that 99% of success in life is attitude. So now I have been re-evaluating my path, forming a better attitude, and finding a bit of passion along the way.


I just want to say "thank you" to everyone who has replied to this thread. You have all helped me get a better grip on what passion is all about, and I really appreciate it.
 
Val, I also wanted to add that I have found passion to be a bit of interest combined with intent. What I mean is that you find something you are interested in and you form an intent to explore that which interests you. I think passion is that intent and dedication to explore that which interests you.


So, you could say that passion is possible in many avenues, but it takes the willingness to explore the potential to see the passion take root. It is not some obscure thing lurking out there some where, it exists in you. You just have to water it a bit, and watch it grow.
 
My passion is to understand and learn from different cultures. I'm sad that I had to drop out of school (money troubles, no child left behind=fight in our war and we might give you enough money to pay for one semester of college), because I feel as if a lack of a degree (college degree=prestige, prestige=money/funding) will inhibit me from travelling to other countries and meeting different types of people, but I feel the calling within me to do this and, well, where there's a will there's a way (hitchiking):thumbsup:.
 
Val, you said that for 22 years your kids and marriage came first. I have chosen to not have children because I don't believe that I am willing or capable of putting my own interests aside for 18-22 years. I believe that it is the most honorable thing that a parent can do and I commend you for your (what I believe to be a) sacrifice.


With regards to passion, finding it is also something that I struggle with. As of late, I have stopped trying to find what I am passionate about. I have begun to look inward to try to turn on the feelings that over the years have been turned off as a result of hurt and dissapointment etc. I believe that for me, turning these feelings on is directly related to feeling passion and eventually the ability to be passionate about something.


There are many things that I'm interested in and that I spend a lot of time attending to, but for some reason I don't qualify them as "passions" because I'm still lacking some sort of emotional connection that according to me needs to be present before I can call it a passion.


Just thoughts. Thanks for the topic!
 
Another thought


Often times things that we were good at and/ or passionate about in past lives carry over. I wonder if you did some regression or meditation you might access some of the things that you've been passionate about in other lives. Something might "click".
 
Writing has always been my passion. Telling stories. I feel I've got so much to say, and I've begun saying it again. It's been about 10 years since I've written anything, but my recent journey inward has helped me to realize what I'm truly passionate about.


It's taking some practice to get me back into "shape" but I'm starting slow.


I'm also passionate about music. Speaking of which, is anyone on here from Sweden? If so, I'd love to talk to you.
 
Hey, Beachboy,


A Swede here... :) So what´s your connection to this here native soil of mine...?


Interesting about your passion for writing. I was always fond of it myself, but can´t say I´ve actually cultivated it in any real way... Not too late just yet, though, I guess.


Music is great and I always brag about enjoying a very wide variety of it but- then there´s... Per Gessle... :eek: ;) We-ell (*smugly*), he does sound better in english, I guess...God bless him LOL. Of swedish bands that I think are sort of known of in the US I would like one like "the Hives"...


Anyway, so as not to derail the thread altogether I´ll give my passion... and let´s say I could only keep one activity or pursuit, then it would have to be that ever on-going spiritual ponderation... that´s what runs the deepest in my blood, anyway.
 
Tinkerman said:
Searching for passion, for me, is as beautiful as finding it! The world is such a wide open and inviting school. As you travel through your life you'll hit moments of everything from doubt and sadness to exhilaration and joy...these are all items to direct you towards passion. Slow and notice them, savor them! Even those times of profound sadness.
For me the greatest passion is the memory of a love centuries old. I can find her in every thought, every step and every breath. I see her while sitting on the sunset bench out back of the barn. She walks with me to the big hill east of the ranch. She makes me smile, she makes me cry....she makes me live for the day we'll dance under the harvest moon, on top of Blue Hill. Oh great joy, even with empty arms and sweltering heat...memories allow one to see the world in a sense of passion.... ya just gotta look, and again for me that is part of the joy.


Have a great day,


Tinkerman
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You have really touched me with your reply to Val. In a really big way. I'm not really into poetry but I especially liked Journey. Your memories of a love centuries old is similar to my PL memories. I agree with your advice for finding what you are passionate about. Everything that reaches inside and touches you has a potential to be a passion and a learning experience.
 
My passions found me

Lauren said:
Val, you said that for 22 years your kids and marriage came first. I have chosen to not have children because I don't believe that I am willing or capable of putting my own interests aside for 18-22 years. I believe that it is the most honorable thing that a parent can do and I commend you for your (what I believe to be a) sacrifice.
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I would agree with that, Lauren. When you have a true passion for something, it comes first in your life. It is what you make sacrifices for.


I learned from my mother that if you have children, you should make them your passion, put them first in your life. That, plus the fact that I don't like children, is why I also never included them in my life.


Val, your passion has been your kids and your marriage. In my case, career came first for me. That was my passion. Now, you are looking for a new passion. Is there anything in your life that you had to put aside in order to focus on your priorities?


Why not start there, and if that isn't something you want to put first in your life, try on a few new interests and see where they take you.


Although you never know. In my case, I didn't find my passion , it found me. I'd found what I thought was my new passion. I'd written a manuscript for a self-help book and I thought that providing counseling based on the process was going to be my passion and my career. Wrong.


That's just a normal part of my life, and it will always be. It's not something I feel any passion for. I need to do a major revision to the manuscript as a result of the change in my passions, and the change in my life as a result of it.


I work with at-risk gifted adolescents and young adults (15-25). I am a surrogate parent in their lives-some more than others. Depends on how much of a basket case they are.


Not what I expected or wanted in life. However, they chose me, not the other way around. I'd heard that happens, also that once you get one, they tend to multiply and soon you have lots of 'my kids'.


Helping my group of "My kids" is my #1 passion in life. I have a few others, such as fine art and sports photography, and encouraging more community involvement in policing.


I hope you find a new passion in life. Life is a lot more interesting when you have something to be passionate about. Besides, you will never lack for a conversational topic :)


Phoenix
 
Phoenix, you're right... something you are passionate about is something that you are willing to make sacrifices for. I hadn't thought about it that way. hmmmmm.....
 
Oh wow, this is a great thread! :thumbsup:


My passion is: writing. I just love words. When I was much younger I would write short stories. But it's been a while, years even, since I last wrote something. And I feel like I have all these untold stories inside, just waiting to get out. It's like I have all this thread to weave something, but I just.... don't. :D I dunno.


Whenever I try to write, it's like there's something blocking me, something doesn't let me break through and move forward. I think this correlates with my journey into self-discovery and past lives. I know that this knowledge is there, just waiting for me, but somehow I just don't know how to unlock that door. At the same time I realize that I'm the one who's holding it shut!:confused:
 
Wow, that's exactly how I feel, Rowan! I used to write all the time too, but now I never get past the first page. Something stops me and yet I feel I have so many stories to tell. I hope that someday I find out what is stopping me and get rid of it... :)
 
Hi rowan8 and Sunniva :)


have you tried autohypnosis? That's a good and safe way and often helps to unblock blockages - or at least find out why they are there


Clivia
 
Hi Sunniva and Clivia!


Sunniva, I think that creativity flows from inside. The reason why we seem to be unable to ''create'' lately has to be inside too. Which is why I think Clivia's suggestion of autohypnosis is a pretty good one, except.....well,let me explain: this is actually a recurring topic with me.... :eek: , I've been posting about it for years, and I don't seem to have progressed at all:my biggest problem is fear. I am scared of what I might see, of what I might find if I search inside of me, and I think it's all related to past life experiences or actions.


I guess I'm afraid of pain. And I guess I'm afraid of looking at myself in the mirror,really seeing myself,who I am, what I've been. Which is maybe why I don't write anymore,seeing as everything that you create is a reflection of yourself....
 
True, Rowan. That is difficult. I must say though that it isn't so much the fear of what is inside me that I struggle with. I know exactly when my 'fear' of writing began.


When I was about 17 I had written a novel and send it to a publishing company. Much to my surprise it was accepted - they wanted to publish it and I had a meeting with the publisher, all was great, the story was good BUT the ending had to be rewritten (clicheé, but true), I had to research some things more in-depth and she ended off with what was to become my curse: the fact that I was young and had no experience with life ("If only you were 30 years older..." she said). But I was motivated, I went home and started the project. But I drowned in it because it wasn't *mine* anymore, but what *they* wanted me to write. I haven't been able to even write the shortest story since then. Tragic. *violins are whining in the background :laugh:*


Clivia, your advice is really not a bad idea at all. I can't think why I haven't thought of it before. Unfortunately I don't have any money at the moment, but I'll definitely look into that :thumbsup: Thanks!
 
Hi Rowan8:) it's absolutly ok to be afraid of pain - aren't we all ?


The advantage of self hypnosis or autohypnosis is - no matter if you use a tape, which you bought or create your own - that your subconscious takes ove control. You can tell yourself that you don't want to relive a situation but rather watch it - but than as I read it's this watching that scares you - so how about - if you can and feel for it - you go to a skilled regressionist and explain about your fears.


If this therapist is skilled s/he will understand and will have a gentle approach.


Sunniva - you have one advantage that you know where your blockage comes from - one step already towards healing:)
 
Hi Clivia:


thanks! :) You've given me a good idea.


Sunniva: wow, you were going to be published at 17? you should most definitely try to break through what's blocking you, it sounds like you have a great talent. Good luck and please keep us posted about your progress, I'd love a happy ending to your story!:thumbsup:
 
I have three passions: music, languanges, and writing.


I discovered my music passion when listening to a Vanessa Mae CD. (Vanessa Mae plays the electric violin.) She enchanted me with her performance of "Storm" by Vivaldi. I wanted to play the violin just as perfect as she could.


In the end I chose harp. I'm talented, but not very disciplined.


I sing as well, and I combine singing and writing by composing my own songs. I write lyrics and I sing them when I'm riding my bicycle.


I also write stories. I've written stories all my life, since I was about 2.5 years old; I guess I was born with the ability to.


I speak English with an English accent and I've got absolutely no idea where it comes from. I have a friend who lived in America for about a year when she was six and now speaks English with an Australian accent. She is the only one I know, next to a former English teacher of mine who has Scottish roots, who doesn't speak Flemish-sounding English either. It's really, really weird.


As for the target-in-life part, I'd say: if you were happy while doing things for other people, you can say you've had a good life. Everyone has been born with a purpose; maybe that was yours. You can be happy for having been helpful to all those people...
 
rowan8 said:
Hi Clivia:
thanks! :) You've given me a good idea.


Sunniva: wow, you were going to be published at 17? you should most definitely try to break through what's blocking you, it sounds like you have a great talent. Good luck and please keep us posted about your progress, I'd love a happy ending to your story!:thumbsup:
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Thank you very much, Rowan hug3.gif That's very sweet of you. I also hope you will be able to write. Just give it time ;) Good luck to you too. Thanks again :eek:
 
Rowan, and Sunniva. Please don't give up on writing. I would suggest sitting down at the computer every evening and writing just anything that comes to mind--for yourself, don't show it to others. Don't worry about literary quality, don't worry about creating a coherent story, just write.


You may start with a dream you've had, and fantasize a little bit to change and expand it as you'd want it to go. Eventually, you may find yourself taking off. And write about what you know, what's powerful to you.


I often speak to children and school groups, and when they ask me I tell them the same thing . . . keep writing!


Lonewolf

rowan8 said:
Hi Sunniva and Clivia!
Sunniva, I think that creativity flows from inside. The reason why we seem to be unable to ''create'' lately has to be inside too. Which is why I think Clivia's suggestion of autohypnosis is a pretty good one, except.....well,let me explain: this is actually a recurring topic with me.... :eek: , I've been posting about it for years, and I don't seem to have progressed at all:my biggest problem is fear. I am scared of what I might see, of what I might find if I search inside of me, and I think it's all related to past life experiences or actions.


I guess I'm afraid of pain. And I guess I'm afraid of looking at myself in the mirror,really seeing myself,who I am, what I've been. Which is maybe why I don't write anymore,seeing as everything that you create is a reflection of yourself....
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