You know, the Greeks didn’t write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: “Did he have passion?” – Serendipity, the movie
Whether the Greeks wrote or didn’t write obituaries isn’t as important as the question.
Passion is a zeal, a fervor, a barely controllable emotion towards a subject or person.
Do you have that feeling for something? Art, writing, cooking, service…
a feeling that if you did not do this ‘thing,’ your spirit would dampen, keep you in regret, have you say ‘what if?’
For me, if I’m not writing, I’m not truly living. My body and spirit often feel like a container of thoughts, waiting for my hands to hold a pen or hover over a keyboard ready to dive in and release those thoughts into a journal or on a keyboard.
To not set free those thoughts, is to keep everything in a container until it’s in danger of imploding, or worse, create a slow burn from the inside out.
The word passion comes from the Latin verb patere meaning to suffer.
Sometimes we suffer when working towards that passion. We always suffer if we don’t even make the attempt.
I say this only to give an example of what can happen when not heeding your enthusiasm.
Sometimes we do this to ourselves. Other times we allow someone else, through their criticism, to reduce our conviction for a subject.
It’s not their fault, it’s up to you to fulfill your own dream. To crave it so much that you hear their words and work on your passion anyway.
Critics can either wrap your passion in words of doubt until your light goes out or you can decide to follow your dreams and see where they lead.
Your art, writing, cooking, ‘fill in the blank,’may not lead you to fame or fortune. You may need to work hard to fulfill your dream, and this might takes years…
but your family or friends could affirmingly answer the obituary question;
better, yet, you would know the answer before anyone wrote your obituary.
I love this…! Your instincts led you to hit the nail on the head, I believe. People with passion cannot be stopped. Oh, maybe early on when the child is in love with horses, or just finds a blank sheet of paper completely compelling! Discouragement can come early to some, crippling them for life. I have such empathy for those who do not find it. Some blame it on their parents, but that was so long ago, and I wonder why they hang on to it? Not for me to say. Some of us overcome the most critical period, others don’t. I still can’t look at a sheet of paper without the urge draw, paint, or write my story. I can’t stop, nobody can stop me!! Thank God!!
“For me, if I’m not writing, I’m not truly living.”
I’m with you 100%, Mona. For publication or not, words are my little candles that illuminate my path through life. Lovely post.
alvaradofrazier.com 
It’s funny, but the VERY FIRST thing I have students do in early recovery is write their obituary….eye opening….i’ll write my own tonight….
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Juan, that’s a great project! I like the fill in the blank one done by the artist in the photo above.
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I love this…! Your instincts led you to hit the nail on the head, I believe. People with passion cannot be stopped. Oh, maybe early on when the child is in love with horses, or just finds a blank sheet of paper completely compelling! Discouragement can come early to some, crippling them for life. I have such empathy for those who do not find it. Some blame it on their parents, but that was so long ago, and I wonder why they hang on to it? Not for me to say. Some of us overcome the most critical period, others don’t. I still can’t look at a sheet of paper without the urge draw, paint, or write my story. I can’t stop, nobody can stop me!! Thank God!!
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Interesting to learn about the connection between passion and suffering. Time to persevere to bring our artistic endeavors to light!
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“For me, if I’m not writing, I’m not truly living.”
I’m with you 100%, Mona. For publication or not, words are my little candles that illuminate my path through life. Lovely post.
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I agree with you about writing and I’m glad I found and never lost my passion so I know that when I do die it’ll be a thread throughout my life.
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Andrea, I like that image, “…a thread throughout my life.”
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I am struck by “A thread throughout my life”, too. Just perfect!
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