Passion
Passion. A word I've thought about, discussed, felt.
I was catching up on a new tv series I've recently become a fan of - The Bedford Diaries. This show is about the students and the issues they deal with during a sexual studies class in college. Each week, a different topic is presented and each student is tasked with the assignment of a video diary answering the week's question. They have been tasked to document their thoughts on, among other things, love vs. sex, manipulation and secrets.
The last episode I watched, the teacher posed the question - what is passion...what are you passionate about!
More questions were raised instead of answers...what IS passion? Is it something you choose or is it something that chooses you? How much should you be able to control your actions or feelings for what you are passionate about? Can you be passionate about a lot of things or does that defeat the purpose of finding something to be passionate about? Is it a GOOD thing or is it a BAD thing since passions can really take hold?
What do you think out there? What is passion? What is worse - being passionate about everything...or nothing? Do you think having something to be passionate about is a requirement for actually living life?
posted by Valerie @ 9:10 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
You raise an interesting question. I think that it is worse to be passionate about nothing, than everything, but obviously there are downsides to both extremes. I think that being a passionate person means that you experience the emotions in life. You can see the good in people, the beauty in nature, and appreciate brilliant music. And you allow yourself to care about people and things. However, if you are overly passionate, if you take on too many feelings and cares, you can become weighed down and on an emotional rollercoaster. That's obviously not a good place to be.
But to go through life without being passionate is like driving a white car and eating only vanilla ice cream. Where's the fun in that?
I agree with Kristen, you have to find a middle ground. You can't be completely dispassionate about everything because, I mean, you'd be the dullest person ever. You can't be passionate about everything either, though, because not only would you exhaust yourself but you'd also be passionate about some things you shouldn't be.
For me, I'm a very passionate person, but I tend to focus my passionate energy on certain things, like relationships, volunteering at church, things like that.
Although, to Kristen, I must say: "What's wrong with white cars and vanilla ice cream?!?!"
I believe that this topic of passion may be a bit too advanced for a large portion of the audience at which it was targeted. Many college students cannot fully understand the extremes of passion; therefore, have no concept of "how" passionate they are or can be. I think that many of the target audience believe they are VERY passionate about many things, when in fact, they fail to understand what it is. . .until it hits them.
Passion can be used in several contexts, but truly, in this context, "What are you passionate about?" may be a bit too big to swallow for some. I believe that when people are asked this question with anticipation of an answer from one's soul the concept takes on new meaning. For instance, what is passion? I dare say passion is that which chooses and TAKES one to the inception of destiny. Without passion, we are lost. Just as we cannot find the Kingdom on our own, we will not find destiny on our own. When the time is right, passion will choose us. It is easy to say that we like something, such as a professional sports team, but the team never chooses the fan.
Passion is LIKE love, not to be confused WITH love. They are alike in that neither is to be determined by the receiver. They are both blind and what one chooses to do with them (Here is the element of choice), once received, is up to them.
It's okay to be passionate (general context) about many things, but one will never be passionate (deeper context) about much. Just as one may have truly loved only a handful, or less, of people over a lifetime in a way that is unexplainable, one can only truly be passionate (deeper context) about a handful of things, or less. Good and bad are removed from passion itself. Good and bad are only limited to that we can control - free will or what we choose to do with passion or love. Bad passion and bad love don’t exist. Bad decisions as a result of passion or love certainly do.
At any given cross-sectional reference in time a person can be passionate about absolutely nothing, but this is not the end of the story. Passion may not yet have struck. We have all been created to love, to be loved, to feel passion. . .to ultimately SHOW passion. The question may be, "When passion strikes, how can one recognize it. . .define it. . .know that it is just that. . .passion?"
For the record, having something to be passionate about, is not a requirement for life, but rather indicative of life itself.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home