Tuesday, December 28, 1999

Effortlessness Through Passion

I spent the weekend before Thanksgiving in the woods with friends. I went to camp in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Lots of time and space! Being in nature does that best for me. I more easily find time to connect with myself. Nature is my personal passion.

I saw very old cedar, pine and hardwoods standing tall and quiet, waiting for whatever comes their way. The fire's flames sometimes flickered, sometimes settled down to coals and sometimes burst into a roaring blaze. But it was always there to warm me. The last day of my visit, we got up early and went to the woods in the fog. While sitting quietly, waiting, the coyotes began to howl. We could track their movement by their continuous yipping and howling.

What are you passionate about? It could be nature, art, great food, music, or spending time with those close to you. Whatever it is use that passion to learn more about yourself. Most of us learn about ourselves when a physical or emotional emergency enters our lives. We struggle thorough the crisis and come out the other end knowing more about who we are and how we react. While very insightful, this kind of learning is costly. Using our passions can be effortless and can, over time, even decrease the emotional and physical emergencies that we encounter.

That weekend I was reminded that I can stand tall and quite and there really is nothing to do but wait. I remembered I have an internal flame that sometimes flickers, sometimes roars, and sometimes burns down to low coals, but always provides me with a sense of warmth and energy. Yes, that flame even goes out on occasion. But I learned that I have the power to rekindle it. And, I took inventory of all that I have to howl about and know that to let loose makes me more of who I am and helps others know where I'm at.


“When you pursue your passion, you are 100% focused and living by your values.” ~David A Burnet

“A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience.” ~Oliver Wendell Homes

“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.” ~Raymond Inman

“The act of discovery is not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” ~Marcel Proust

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” ~Arthur Conan Doyle, in a 1896 article for Scientific America


Put yourself in an activity or place that you are passionate about, that inspires you, and just listen to your internal desires.

Thanks to Jim, Drew and Maggie.