where did your passion go?

Summer holidays 2019 whilst relaxing poolside in Mermaid Beach and enjoying a chilled beer I was mindlessly scrolling through the ‘Gram (as you do), and suddenly came to a halt. It was a post that read ‘what do you LOVE to do?’. This was referring to a passion outside of work, which regardless if you love your job, it’s still your means to an end. Not an outside passion. A project, a hobby, a craft or a skill.

It dawned on me that I couldn’t come up with an answer. I sat and pondered for a long while. All things came to mind, but they were lifestyle enjoyments or necessities, such as walking Pebbles or doing Pilates. That’s not the passion I was looking for. I was searching for the one thing that above it all made me feel creative and free.

Days went by and it wouldn’t leave my mind. It was saddening - why on earth don’t I have something I love to do? Growing up many of us have after school passions. I was heavily into dancing and singing - to the point I was certain that was my ticket outta here, but life took are real hard turn left…and here we are. But, why did loving ‘something’ so much have to end when school finished? How have I not found something to ….scrap that, why have I become too busy to love something?

At the time of penning this, Australia was faced with the relentless bushfires. 500M animals were dead, people tragically lost their loved ones, and countless homes and possessions lost. This impacted the whole country greatly, affecting those who weren’t personally affected. I, like everyone else, was brought to tears every time I saw an image of the burnt to a crisp kangaroo or koala with raw pads. It was hard not to feel moved and angry. And, I felt compelled to write about how I felt. The inside noise just had to spill out.

Suddenly, words came flying out of my head. It was fluid, natural and easy. And, it felt good. Real good.

Then it hit me. I realised what I LOVE to do. Whipping out the lappy and getting lippy on my keyboard.

Life is escaping us more and more as the years continue to fly by. We have little time for loved ones and even less time for ourselves. So, it’s time we dedicate more to doing things we love, to avoid unhappiness, disconnection, potential self-sabotage caused by mental breakdowns and overworking ourselves to burnout.

Life is about filling up the cup, and doing things that make us feel good…you know, for the love of it.