quote by e.e. cummings

Readers,

 

Only 5 days into this goal of 40 days of reflection and I’m struggling to post before midnight.  It’s amazing how time flies during the day.  Today’s topic is one that I’ve been thinking about all day – living free and finding your passion.  To give credit where credit is due, NPR started the thought process on this one.

 

 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

 

~ E.E. Cummings

 

 

Today on public radio there was a conversation that focused around letting yourself go, and the freedom that comes from being yourself.  Initially, my thought process led me down the path of thinking about how free most artists seem to be, and how happy.  Although I haven’t been heavily involved in the artist communities, I do know enough artists and been exposed to enough of their lifestyles to know that many sacrifice a lot for their craft.  They may work a standard job so they can pay for the supplies they need, but then spend every free minute lost in their creativity.  I’ve often thought of this lifestyle in an almost envious light.  What passion some artists have.  It’s incredible.

 

But then it got me thinking about the gifts that these artists have which allow them to be as creative as they are.  Eventually it led me to ask – what about those people who aren’t artistically gifted?  Why is it okay for the artist to give themselves so entirely to their craft but a business-person who works the same amount of time or with the same intensity is labeled as a workaholic or worse?  For someone that’s gifted in ways more suited toward the business world, they should be free to fill their passion as well without facing ridicule. 

 

Passion is a gift.  A person is blessed if they have something that they’re passionate about and are able embrace that passion, whether it’s creating the next masterpiece in oil on canvas or by launching the next IPO.   Too many people these days have lost their passion altogether.