People Pursuing Passion

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-- Harold Whitman

How many of you out there live out your passion daily?  Whether its a passion for fitness, a passion for a political cause, a passion for food, whatever it may be do you allow yourself the chance to enjoy it?  I believe there are a number of people who have known from a young age what their passion is and yet far more that have no idea.  These people live the status quo of life.  They have become or behave as others have labeled them to be.  They have chosen the safe route because to get to know themselves is well...scary.  It's scary since they've never really gotten to know who they are and have morphed into conformists without a clue as to what their passion is.  Finding and pursuing your passion takes risk and risk for the "safe" is truly uncomfortable.

I've had the pleasure of surrounding myself with people of passion through my son who is a nationally ranked tennis player.  He surrounds himself daily with others who share the same disciplines, the same sacrifices, the same passion.  Since Jake was 2 years old and learned to walk, we could not keep him off the tennis court.  He loved it and still does.  It is what drives him, it is what gets him out of bed at 6am to train, it is his passion.  Alison is another young adult who inspires me!  She can run like a gazelle for hours on end, she trains daily to improve her basketball skills and she has since she was 5.  Alison is a mature young woman.  She knows who she is, her values unwavering, and she certainly has passion.

But what about those who truly don't know?  How sad that their lives have passed them by like empty boxes that can be filled up with whatever people  tell them to fill up with.  Why havent they found "it"?  How do you know what "it" is?  I suppose it redirects us back to our quote, ask yourself what makes you come alive and as the great Nike adage says "just do it".