I challenge you...

“If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.” -T. Alan Armstrong


Passion: The state of the mind when it is powerfully acted upon and influenced by something external to itself; the state of any particular faculty which, under such conditions, becomes extremely sensitive or uncontrollably excited; any emotion or sentiment (specifically, love or anger) in a state of abnormal or controlling activity; an extreme or inordinate desire; also, the capacity or susceptibility of being so affected; as, to be in a passion; the passions of love, hate, jealously, wrath, ambition, avarice, fear, etc.; a passion for war, or for drink; an orator should have passion as well as rhetorical skill.

When most people hear "passion" they think of sultry romance novels and, undoubtedly, sex. But, like the definition above states, passion can refer to any strong emotion. When I think of passion, I think of the things that bring me the most joy, the things that I'm passionate about. For instance, I love music, movies, books, reading, writing, the color blue (all shades and variations), singing, panda bears, cartoons and cooking. I could probably come up with more but, for the sake of space, we'll stop the list there :p

Take cooking, for example. I love to do it, it doesn't particularly matter if there's anyone to eat it or not, I'd still cook. I do prefer to cook for others though, whether it's recipes I've hi-jacked from Food Network chefs and put my own little twist on or it's something I've come up with in a mad moment of craving. I adore it all!

Or books. I think I'm a little obsessive about books. I'd have my own library if I could afford it. I like certain authors and strive to collect their complete works as well as exploring new writers and adding to my growing stacks of books. One day I'd like to add a copy of my own novel to that pile...just need to finish writing it first.

Or music. I KNOW I'm obsessive about music. In my perfect little world, music would play constantly, a random variation of new and old rock with a little country thrown in to catch you off guard.

These are just some of my greatest loves, the things, or hobbies, that I thoroughly enjoy and attempt to learn more about at every opportunity. I can always find a new recipe to try out or a new author to read. I can discover little known facts about a band that I love or even stumble across a new artist that tickles my fancy. And that's part of what makes a "passion" so exciting.

What are some of your fascinations? I'd like to hear from you all. Maybe it's collecting sports memorabilia. Or music. Or poetry. Or entertaining. Do you love gardening? Or blogging, even? If you don't think you have a passion, I challenge you to go out and find one...and live life a little more passionately :)