passion

Tonight while I was in the shower - which seems to be the location where I do a large portion of my most introspective thinking - I think I figured out the meaning of life.  Kind of.

I believe it all comes down to passion.  Or at least the most important things do.  Everyone is seeking happiness, right?  I mean, it's a basic desire, once we've got stable shelter and food supply, to be enjoying ourselves and feeling happy.  And what do we spend a lot of our daily time doing (to fund said food and shelter)?  A job, of course.  I'm sure many, many people are doing jobs they wouldn't choose, just because they need the money.  But to be happy - not excited all the time, but content, satisfied, purposeful, in good spirits - I believe the ideal is to be doing a job about which you're passionate.  If you care about a purpose, or a product you're providing, or a service you're offering, then you will want to go spend your time on it every day.  You won't be counting down the hours til you can go home because you'll get wrapped up in what you're doing and you won't notice them going by.  And I'm speaking of a full-time job here, but I believe this can extend to college students as well; you aren't getting paid (unless maybe you're past undergraduate level), but if you are able to choose a subject you love, then you'll want to go to class, participate, and do the work given outside of it.

I'm not saying this is easy (and yes I've just painted a pretty rosy world here).  Figuring out a passion might not come early in life, and you might still need college,, or even time afterwards, to really discover a niche out of the endless realm of possible jobs/subjects/purposes in which you feel you belong.  But this kind of passion is one example.

I think people's passions often shine through (also) in realms very different from their jobs.  I have been lucky enough to discover the world of partner dancing - most particularly, blues.  One could call dancing a hobby of mine, but it's really a passion.  The feeling of triad connection between me, a partner, and the music - when all falls best into line - is absolutely unlike anything else for me.  It's physical and emotional expression.  And I know the experience does it for many others, because I meet them at the numerous events I've traveled to, and I see it in those who are teaching the newer dancers, and I see it when I watch others dancing, and I live it in the vibrant community of which I am so happy to be a member.  So another kind of passion is truly loving and feeling alive in an activity, an experience, and sharing that with an amazing community glued together by that common thread.

Passion is evident in your own strongest innate interests, too.  When you find yourself seeking something out, in numerous ways over years of your life, and you can while hours on the never-ending pursuit of learning more, diving deeper into connoisseurship, I'd say it's a passion.  Mine in this example is music.  I played music instrumentally for years, and have long believed that while listening to music can be amazing, it can never compare to the emotionally evocative power of being part of producing the music. It has to be a piece that hits me the right way, but when it does, it's a strength of emotion that can't be put into words.  I lived that passion for many years... and then the activity structure became less interesting and inspiring to me, and it fell out of my life.  Dancing grew to fill that space.  But as I got more into dancing, my musical interests regrew in the form of listening for the purpose of perhaps djing for dancers.  This gave me a whole new perspective and set me on an everlasting search.  I also was lucky enough to meet a friend whose passion and hunger for music that reaches him surpassed mine by a long shot.  I was simply amazed time and again by his desire to find more and not only that, but to share it with me.  He sent me off into another forever search of my own, to find music in the genres I love to listen to.  My musical world has expanded astronomically since, and I could probably spend forever seeking and categorizing and searching for those songs you fall in love with instantly.

But there's more.  I've realized, maybe only just today, that passion can be in the form of love.  Not romantic or physical passion - those are at best fleeting in the picture of life, I think.  When you really simply love somebody, with whatever relationship it may be (family, friend, or "significant other") - it is another passion.  I don't feel necessarily qualified to speak of love in the form of those kinds of relationships particularly, but I have been and am loved.  Love is caring and having concern, wanting the best for someone, giving to them ahead of your own wants and needs, being there for them.  It's not sacrifice and service all the time, but more an ongoing mentality, and a willingness to also give more concretely in those ways.  It's a calm but strong passion.

So passion gives our time purpose, gives us satisfaction in its fulfillment, gives us direction, ways to help others individually and at large, gives us joy and life, makes us who we are.  People are more important than things, so I think love comes first.  All the other kinds help make our lives full.