Living Passionately

Passion has always been a central theme of my reflections. I have always believed that the only way to live life is to live it passionately. It does not only give you direction but more importantly it gives life meaning no matter how meaningless life may seem.

Today, I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to my students about what passion is and how it can help them in their studies. I asked them to write in their journals what they know about passion and write what they are passionate about.

When it was time for me to read their entries I saw that there was a commom thread on how my students understood what passion is. Most of them said that "Passion is about doing what you LOVE and sticking to it despite the CHALLENGES that may come your way."

Let me type that again.
"Passion is about doing what you LOVE and sticking to it despite the CHALLENGES that may come your way."

Their answers are simple. Truth is many of you can come up with deep, academic,philosophical or verbose definition about what passion is. But at the end of the day it is about what these students are saying. It is doing what you love, loving what you do even if times get tough. Their answers are simple but they capture the very essence of passion.

I realized that if 13 year olds can understand what passion is so can adults. Well doing it is another thing but I believe that the journey to living a life of passion starts with understanding what it is.

So if you are reading this and you feel like you do not know what to do with your life. If you feel down, because you feel like the universe decided to confuse you. This I tell you. DO NOT LOSE HOPE.

Find what you love. Keep trying. If you fail try again. You see, just like learning, finding what you are passionate about is a continuous process. And more than the destination its the journey that makes it worth while.

Always remember that if thirteen year olds can understand what passion is and the beauty it can bring to one's life. So can you.