Let’s say that you’re passionate about something.
First, congratulations! That puts you in the minority. What minority? The minority of people who (think) they know what they’re passionate about.
Knowing what you’re passionate might be rarer than you think.
That you know your passion is wonderful. Something to cherish. Something to think deeply about.
Something to chase.
Maybe.
Maybe you should chase it. Then again, maybe you shouldn’t.
The truth is that I don’t know if you should chase your passion. That’s not my call to make. There are factors in your life that I have no idea about. Maybe chasing your passion would put too much at risk for yourself and the people around you. I just don’t know, and I won’t assume I have the answer for you.
I know I know. This isn’t the answer you were looking for.
My apologies.
Because if you’re reading this right now, then it means you’re at least curious about finding a definitive answer. Or maybe you’re completely desperate to find an answer. I don’t know.
But (I think) there’s something I do know.
Having a passion is a privilege.
Think of all the moments in your life when you didn’t know what you were passionate about.
For most of us, that’d be something like our entire lives.
Passions are privileges. They’re special. They’re a sign that you’ve begun to dig into the things that make us not deer or sheep or the first creature to climb ashore, grow legs, and become what would later become a human.
Thank goodness we’re human.
Humans can feel, then think about what they feel, and ultimately act on what they think.
I’m assuming you’re human.
And if you’re human, then you’ve been given the privilege of feeling passion and thinking about it.
Passion. What a terrible thing to waste.
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Photo: Flickr/ian svendsplass