Following Your Passion

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All of us are passionate about something...
It is how we handle our passion; whether we follow our passion or decide not to ~ that makes the difference!

Part of that decision is the practical, mundane ‘value’ of our passion.
After all, we do need to pay the bills, something that usually weighs stronger when we have a family. But even when we have just ourselves to reckon with ~ it is something to consider. “Can I make enough money to live on, just by following my passion?”

This means that an important part of that decision depends on our ability to imagine ways in which it can work... If we can just see where to start; from there we can paint a picture as to how it would look when it has become a part of our lives. We can visualize how our passion transforms into something we do that we actually get paid for.

It is just that we are not apt to use our imagination in that manner. As we have grown up, imagination has become something that belongs in fairy tales and the world of ‘make-believe’ ~ it has become a part of us that we may have left behind when we entered the ‘real world’.
And in this ‘real world’, believing it is so doesn’t make it true. Or does it?

Because it seems that especially in the energy of today it becomes easier and easier to accomplish exactly those things that we believe in. The things that not only ring true to us, but also give us an inner sense of ‘rightness’.

And this is something that works both ways...
If we are involved in work or a job that doesn’t feel right to us for whatever reason ~ whether it is the pay associated with it, the appreciation we get for what we do, or even what the company stands for ~ it can become harder and harder to keep working that job. We bring home a paycheck, yet we are not inspired by the work, the company, how we are treated, or how others, the environment, or even the world is treated.
Yet when we find ourselves in a position in which we feel we truly can make a difference in the world ~ especially if that means we are doing things we believe in, things we are passionate about ~ anything seems possible!

There are many ways to follow our passion, yet what they all have in common is that we happier doing what we are doing ~ we believe in what we are doing and are inspired to do it!
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Passion

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According to the dictionary, there are a number of meanings for ‘passion’:

• strong and barely controllable emotion
• a state or outburst of such emotion
• intense sexual love
• an intense desire or enthusiasm for something
• a thing arousing enthusiasm

In our day to day lives passionate emotions as well as intense enthusiasm seem to come to the surface more and more often...

In this time in which polarities seem to have become what it is all about, strong opinions ~ often on either side of any issue ~ come up. And these opinions are then passionately defended.
When this happens it seems only logical that barely controllable emotions start running wild!

On the other hand, those of us that live our lives passionately; those that choose a job or a line of work  stemming from an intense desire to accomplish ‘something good’, may find they become successful beyond their imagination.

This brings up several questions about passion...

• What is happening in this time that brings out such a passion?
• How can we channel this passion in such a way that it becomes a productive part of our lives?

It seems clear that we are well beyond the time where our biggest concerns were to not rock the boat; to keep everything the way it was, and when the answer ‘oh, samo, samo’ meant that nothing had changed so everything was good.
Instead we have entered a time of change ~ and everywhere we look things seem to be in movement. And this movement changes everything. It changes us. It changes our jobs, or how we relate to our jobs. It changes our environment, and the world. And it changes how we live our lives.

And to find our way through these times of change, we can have a tendency to take a stand ~ especially on those issues that are important to us. And pretty soon we may find ourselves passionately defending whatever it is we stand for...

The same thing is at play in the things we do, in our jobs.
It seems to be harder and harder to stay in a job that doesn’t bring out our enthusiasm. That only asks for our presence for a certain number of hours each day; that doesn’t give us a sense of accomplishing something ‘good’, something meaningful, something that makes this world a better place...
On the other hand, if we go out on a limb and start following our passion ~ start doing the things that we feel are important, meaningful, helpful... The things we are truly enthusiastic about... Then suddenly a whole new picture of success emerges!

We are passionate people in a changing world.
Following our passion we can help ensure beneficial changes in our lives, our environment, and yes, in the world!
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Comfort Zones

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We all have our comfort zones.
The things we do or choose not to do, the way we do those things, the people we surround ourselves with and yes, even the time at which we do certain things during the day or week ~ they all add to our comfort zone...

For the most part we are happy with our comfort zones. Doing the things we are comfortable doing ~ pretty much because we know hoe to do them and of course also believing that we are reasonably good at doing those things in the way we perhaps have been doing them for years and years... The rhythm of doing our grocery shopping on Saturday, the laundry on Monday and eating our with friends on Thursday ~ it gives us a sense of belonging when we know that there are things in our lives that don’t change much over time...

And that seems to be what it is all about, the predictability of our lives. The sameness of the things we do and the way we do them.
To sum it up; we tend to be quite happily comfortable if those things in our lives do not change.

So as long as we stay within our comfort zones, we are unlikely to start doing new things. Chances are we won’t try and come up with new ways to do the things we have always done in a certain way. And when we eventually would feel pushed out of our comfort zone a little bit ~ we may well react something like: Why? If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!

All of this means that the comfort zone we like so much and the discovery of new things don’t go together well... And in order to venture out of our comfort zone, we therefore need to have a very good reason.

Reasons to step out of that way we have been living our lives comfortably are of course varied as well as individual. It often has to do with things not working anymore the way we want them to work ~ the way they are ‘supposed to work’. And in order to fix it, in one way or another, we need to change something... Do something new...

Stepping our of our comfort zone can be both scary as well as exciting!
Because no matter which direction we move, we are bound to discover new things, or at least new ways to do the things we have always been doing in a certain way. And once we get used to the fact that there is a whole exciting, adventurous world out there ~ outside of our comfort zone ~ we may also find that we like ‘updating’ the things we do and the way we do them...
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Twittering

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Nowadays, most everybody seems to be a-twitter about twittering with tweets covering the airways. But that is the twitter of smart phones and computers; and the result is ~ at a maximum of 140 characters for a tweet ~ quickly readable. As such, quick messages can spread at incredible speed. Some of them are quite meaningful. Some set up appointments. And any number of them just tell your friends what you are doing, hearing, or watching at that very instant.
And then there is the phenomenon of re-tweeting. Of repeating a message you received to your friends, or as it says on the page: to your followers.
It is something that is ongoing 24/7 it seems...

When you look up the words ‘twitter’ or ‘tweet’ in a dictionary that is slightly older than just a couple of years ~ the meaning of those words refer to something heard rather that read...
And while it can ~ or perhaps could ~ be used to describe people chatting with each other; in its purest meaning it is all about birds.
Birds that are tweeting in and twittering...

I was pondering all of this as I noticed that as soon as the snow started to melt, the birds came out again. To find food, yes. But also to start singing about the approach of Spring.
And while at first it was just one or two birds I heard twittering high up in the trees ~ pretty soon they could be heard everywhere!

The funny thing is also that in just a couple of days they seem to have changed their tunes as well. At first it was just the joy of the changing weather. Then the twittering became more solid, as if all the birds agree that Spring is approaching fast now. And just the other day it changed again into the unmistaken song that signifies the borders of their respective territories. A twittered song that comes with the arguments and fights as the birds start to protect that area they consider their own ~ at least throughout the upcoming Spring...

The birds around my house hardly ever look ahead further than the next season.
Perhaps because life is dangerous ~ even in the city. Or maybe it is just that they only tend to focus at the things that really matter to them. A change in seasons brings a change in what food they can find and where to find it. And of course as Spring is approaching, being a bird one has to get ready to start a family. So creating the space or territory, building the nest...
In their lives those are truly important, meaningful things worth twittering about...
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Creatures of the Night

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Whenever I think of the ‘creatures of the night’, I tend to think of owls and bats.
Of course there are many more creatures who much prefer the cooler, more moist night time to go about their business over the hot, bright sunlit days... Yet to me the owls and bats in their different varieties are the true creatures of the night.

The creatures of the night ~ yes all of them ~ do all of the things that we, the daytime dwellers, do during the day. And for pretty much everything we do we rely for the most part on our eyes. We see, we experience, we do... It starts with seeing.
And the things we see are those things that have nice clear outlines, concise shapes and forms that can give us the information we need in order to decide what our next step is going to be ~ if and how we are going to take action on what we are seeing.

For us, used to accept the information our sight provides for us ‘on face value’, that which we can see is taken for what is there. For us humans specifically ~ that which we can see is all that is there.

But is it?
Or can we benefit from a different manner in which to perceive the world around us; an altered perspective that may give us the information we need in a new way?

The creatures of the night do not see as much different things, as that they see the same things we see during the day differently... And they may not use their sight as much as we do; perhaps they sense the world around them more than they ‘see’ it.

From a spiritual perspective the darkness of the night is not ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ ~ it is a space that is ‘unseen’ and therefore unknown. The darkness then signifies all the things that we cannot yet see or sense. Either because these things are there in energy only, or simply because we cannot yet grasp the concept that they represent.
This can be because we have learned that truth is found in the logical, sunlit world that we can see with our physical eyes, rather than have experienced the world similar to how the creatures of the night experience the world around them.

From a spiritual perspective it is not about being a creature of the night or a daytime dweller ~ it is about merging both perspectives into one whole image or our world...

Clarity comes when we hold that image up to the light. And when we learn how to let our own light shine upon the things around us ~ independent from whether it is daytime or nighttime ~ we are truly illuminated.
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Fair~Weather Friends

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According to the Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com) a fair~weather friend is a friend who is only a friend when circumstances are pleasant or profitable. At the first sign of trouble, these capricious, disloyal friends will drop their relationship with you.

In a more literal sense of the expression, fair~weather friends can also be those that you go out and do ‘fair weather things’ with ~ like (day)camping, a day at the beach, a picnic in the park etc. Those things that simply are a lot more fun when the weather is nice.

Either way, fair~weather friends are not around all the time. They tend to just show up when the circumstances are such that pleasant, fun, and beneficial experiences are to be expected. As such, fair weather friends are unlikely to ever become ‘best friends’, or ‘bosom buddies’ ~ mainly, yet not only because of the time sensitive nature of the friendship...

And then there are ‘foul~weather friends’. One might think they are the opposite of a ‘fair~weather friend’ ~ and may be surprised at how similar ‘fair~weather friends’ and ‘foul~weather friends’ really are...
According to the same Urban Dictionary, a foul-weather friend is the opposite of a fair-weather friend. 
A ‘foul~weather friend’ is someone who likes to be around you when you are unemployed, depressed and in the dumps. He/she feels sorry for you, and gets some pleasure out of feeling superior, handing out advice, berating you for having a bad attitude. As soon as you get out of the slump, get a job, get in shape, get a decent place to live, etc., the ‘foul~weather friend’ is jealous, and stops speaking to you.

My three cats most definitely are fair~weather friends.
Especially when the weather turns foul...

When the weather is nice, these independent creatures tend to roam outside. When they were younger they even felt that they could catch better food themselves than I could ever put in their dishes ~ but as the years progress the tasty snacks I buy for them are more and more appreciated.
Still ~ why come inside and cuddle up when the weather is good? When the sun is shining and the warm, dry afternoon weather can be experienced much more effectively under the shrubbery in the park?
But as soon as the weather turns cold and wet everything changes.
Suddenly I find myself being considered their very best friend ever! A big green eyed gaze is trying to convince me that my lap is the only acceptable place to be ~ and forgotten are the days when they had better things to do!

From their perspective, they enjoy the fair weather as long as it is there ~ then create their own ‘fair weather’ when they need it...
I guess there is a lot to be learned from cats...
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Cold Weather

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Where I live we have ~ due to the proximity and influence of the North Sea ~ a temperate climate. And while we most definitely enjoy four seasons, temperatures are average around the year.
This means that Spring tends to be nice; Summer always seems to be too rainy (although looking at the factual precipitation it hardly ever is); Fall can have its stormy Fall weather ~ and Winter is hardly ever really cold...
Independent from the average weather patterns and temperatures ~ out here, we talk a lot about the weather... Even though it is ~ with everything being pretty much average ~ not all that interesting to talk about.

But as soon as the climate patterns bring us outside of our average normalcy where the weather is concerned, interesting things happen...

When in Spring or Summer there are a few truly warm, sunny days ~ it seems like every single person goes to the beach. Which is understandable when you realize that with a moderate to high humidity, even an average warm, sunny day can feel uncomfortably hot.

Yet when the weather turns cold during the Winter months it becomes obvious how much we have grown accustomed to our temperate climate...
Only a couple of inches of snow has a tendency to bring all transportation to a screeching halt. Freeways quickly start to resemble parking lots. And traffic jams of trains form on the tracks leading up to the railroad stations.
Often the snow turns to slush in only a couple of hours which disappears in the next couple of days.

However, every once in a while, when an Eastern wind takes hold of the weather patterns, the weather gets cold enough for the snow to stick around. Suddenly we are experiencing a ‘real Winter’; one of those Winters that our parents and grandparents used to talk about... A Winter that makes us climb into the attic in order to find our skates ~ trusting that before long we can swirl around on the ice on pond in the park.
After a couple of days of this cold weather, the whole Country seems to become atwitter about the chances of another one of the legendary skating tours in the Netherlands; the ‘Elfstedentocht’. Day by day the thickness of the ice is measured ~ and millions of eyes follow the progress of its build-up to the necessary 6 inches...

On the other hand ~ those that find their water pipes freezing up, or their homes having trouble being heated to a comfortable level, may not be quite as enthusiastic about the cold Winter weather...
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Grass Roots

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According to the dictionary grass roots refer to the most basic level of an activity or organization. And, looking at the actual roots of grass ~ one can’t get closer to the ground...

The other thing that happens with the roots of grasses is that they have this tendency to multiply underground... So where at first just a few blades of grass peek their heads up; pretty soon more and more will follow!

Of course this is how nature works. Most seeds of that one tree that actually find themselves touching the soil in one way or another, eventually will germinate and grow into yet another tree. It is this very principle that is responsible for the growth of groves of trees...

Yet ‘grass roots’ has gotten this specific meaning of a community or group of people that come together in order to instigate changes that seem natural and spontaneous. As opposed to changes orchestrated by a (political) organization or a government.

The interesting thing is that while a number of years ago people were talking about changes they desired in their lives, their environments and the world in general ~ more often than not no real action was taken in order to affect these desired changes. The prevailing attitude seemed to be one of “live and let live” ~ allowing only for individual and private changes.

In the past couple of years more and more people have come together supporting an idea ~ or perhaps even an ideal ~ and having specific views on how this idea not only can make for a better world, but also how this idea can be implemented in the world...
Often those ideas or ideals are relatively simple, not costing a whole lot of money ~ on the other hand not having the potential to make a lot of money either. Yet they would influence the lives of many in a beneficial way.

And that is where the problem lies...

In a society where success is measured in amounts of money ~ where success therefore is looked upon as ‘financial success’ ~ these grass roots ideas often are not viable. Why spend time, money and effort on something that has a close to zero chance of receiving that big bonus at the end of the year?

The fact that more and more grass roots movements exist and actually make the news in one way or another, suggests that in this day and age change is needed. Not just any change ~ a change that touches the core of our societies; and yes one that touches the core of our selves: a change in values.
A change in exactly those things that we have held near and dear for over a century!

And although we may resist this mightily ~ just like the blade of grass will multiply once it has peeked its head up ~ so too will the grass roots call for these changes to multiply...
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