Sunday, October 18, 2015

replacing discontent

 I have a friend of mine that posted she was looking for her passion. I understood what was inferred. Just what is it that you are passionate about ? Some of us have many passions while others only one. Flighty to obsessed. That is the range of passion. In Christianity the passion refers to Jesus final days. It stems from the Greek word, to suffer. We have all heard of those that suffer for their art or occupation. There are passionate people and there are those that are stoic. I don't think we find our passion, it finds us. We just have to be open enough to accept it. Society is the biggest barrier to that That is not to say it is a bad thing, some barriers are necessary. For me, I find that passion is best when shared. I suppose you could say it feeds my ego and boosts my self esteem. Doing something just for the sake of doing it is a concept I really don't understand. All action should have some result. Is it that my personal expectations are too high ? I am seldom satisfied with the results I achieve. I require others to tell me it is good before I am satisfied. I'm sure the head doctors would have an explanation for that.
 Do we , or should we, all have a passion ? I don't think it is a necessary requirement for happiness. And it is happiness that we all truly seek. If we are happy, we are satisfied. Problem is with the defining of happiness. Are you only happy when you feel you have satisfied societal expectations ? That is to say, you feel you are smart enough or attractive enough. Can you entertain others ? Is it that desire that drives you ? Acceptance, in a word is what I'm talking about. Self assured is another way of putting it. Self assurance can lead to arrogance however. There is a balance there. The higher we place ourselves on the pedestal the greater the inevitable fall. That is something I believe to be true. No one can maintain a state of happiness twenty four hours a day. Searching for something ( passion ) to repair/replace our discontent is a never ending cycle. In my opinion to do otherwise is to be delusional. That is the stoic in me. I do have a passionate side. For me passion comes in small doses. The cynic in me will not allow otherwise. I just know it will end.
 I do think you become passionate only when you convince yourself. You must believe it, wholeheartedly and without compromise. The opinions of others must not influence that belief. It is nothing you can just settle on. You cannot " find " it. The discovery must come unexpected. In fact, I think true passion occurs when you are unaware of its' existence. When you can exercise that activity without care or fear of judgement. That is passion. Or is it ? Is passion happiness, or happiness discovered in passion ? Can one preclude the other ? Perhaps they co-exist. We do control our own happiness. Passion however, is discovered.

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