The kind of legacy we leave is up to us. The key to leaving something good lies in the choices we make every day.
Tag: gift
Five years ago, I had a couple of friends who would come by my place to jam. With guitars and portable amps, they would arrive at seven in the evening. We would catch up a bit before kicking off our sort of rehearsal with “Hosanna”, a song by Brooke Ligertwood, and play a couple more pieces. That makes three songs in a row, played and sung on repeat mode. Call it passion in action.
These sessions went on for almost two weeks and every single night, we’d finish past midnight. No breaks but just focused work and the occasional exchange of ideas on how we can deliver better. My roommate would quip, “You guys are definitely in the zone. Anybody could see it”!
In the zone. Wow! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to experience that every single time? Unfortunately, we don’t.
Many people don’t get to find their passion as easily as maybe you and I. So for us, we have a responsibility to keep it alive and burning. To have the constant eagerness to strike while the iron is hot.
A good friend of mine told me once, “If you stop singing, you’re going to explode. So don’t ever think about quitting”. She was right. When I did quit, I exploded.
Letting go of your passion, may not cause you to burst into pieces as fast as fireworks vanishing into thin air. But slowly it will leave you dry, dull and bored. Imagine a canvass with nothing on it, no lines, no shapes, no color, just plain, white, empty space.
Yours can be the hand of a painter who could bring colours to life.
Yours can even be the wits of a comic who could make people laugh with peculiar jokes.
Yours can be the words of a poet who could melt any maiden’s heart with a lyrical prose.
Whatever that passion is, you are alive because of it. It’s your GIFT, and it will lead you to you’re unique CALLING.
We are all pieces of a puzzle. If we don’t fit in our piece, the whole puzzle will never be put together. Think about it, in God’s grand design, you are part of it. Quite a responsibility isn’t it? But quite an honor too!
Friend, my desire for you is to find your passion. Nurture it, and share it with the rest of the world. We’ve waited long enough for you.
“How do I find my passion”? You ask.
Get to know your self.
Explore the many things you’re curious about.
Try. Make mistakes, and fail forward.
Be true to who you are. Stop pretending to be someone else. Stop living somebody else’s life.
Go out there. Get out of your comfort zone.
Get a coach, a mentor or have a role model.
Talk to people you trust and ask them what they think are you good at.
Take heed of compliments freely given to you.
Fill a gap, a void, a lack, or solve a need, a problem, or answer a call.
And to nurture it?
Find your tribe.
Focus on your WHY.
Yes, it’s always hard at the start. There are many roads out there and it can be confusing and frustrating. But the one who searches, the one who looks, will have increased his chance of finding his true north.
Passion. Let it burn you. Leave a glow or better, dazzle the world!
I never appreciated the value of gratefulness until I woke up one day to realize that in my pursuit of happiness it was the missing piece.
Knowing and being thankful for your blessings is one thing. But naming your blessing and calling them out one by one in the face of sadness and despair is another.
Lately, I’ve been so absorbed with the discomfort of a body pain. I’ve been dealing with it for years. I would whine about it in my mind and blame it for things I couldn’t do, for my short temper, and intolerance to just about anything. Though I never blurted my dissatisfaction out loud nor acted on the annoyance I get to contend with every day, the inner struggle was real and was taking its toll on me. Depression set in, to a point where I questioned, “Why am I even here if I’m up to no good”. Believe me, it wasn’t always my narrative. At at a young age, I already believed I was special- just like everyone else.
My appreciation of every person as being unique and innately good, made me sought and believe in the undeniable gift that every human being can bring into this world- the gift of being their own authentic self.
But though inherently pure and innocent, we cannot deny the truth that as we grow old, our minds get corrupted, we get tempted, we grow frail, and of course, we retire, for good. Often times we forget about these realities and wonder why people do hurtful things and make bad choices. We get worried when we start to feel physically weak and we get drawn into the illusion that our strongholds will always be there, till they betray us or leave us.
A time will come when these truths will sink in and find their way to unsettle our steady hearts. Some realities we can change, and some we can’t. And because not everything in our lives is perfect we have to take the good with the bad. When bad gets overwhelming, we have to start reminding ourselves of things that are actually working in our lives. Mastering this power will help us focus on what we have, instead of magnifying the things that we lack.
“Once I get that gold medal, I will be happy”.
“Once I get a raise I’ll be more passionate about my job”
“Once I hit the lottery, I’ll be generous to every person I know.
“Once this sickness goes away, I will work to achieve my goals.”
“Once I have everything I could ever want, I vow to love everyone I meet”.
Conditions. We attached them to promises, to our purpose, and to our goals. But do these conditions need to be satisfied before we start doing the things that we know we’re supposed to do? What if we remove them and declare that starting now,
“I will be happy”.
“I will be more passionate with my job”.
“I will be generous to every person I know”.
“I will fulfill my dreams”.
“I will love all the people around me”.
Anything is pretty much doable, don’t you think? Getting rid of conditions we set for ourselves, rewards us with the freedom of making our own deliberate choices, regardless of our circumstances. And that ultimately defines the person we become.
We can only go as far as we allow ourselves to go. So enough with conditions and excuses. The world doesn’t owe us anything. But we owe one thing to the world- – a better us.
Question.
What conditions have you set for yourself? How did it limit you in any way? What big decisions did you make? Share your thoughts. Love to hear from you.
