November 8 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace
Read Terry Taylor's article about "Living with Passion and Purpose" in this month's (Louisville) Natural Awakenings Magazine
http://www.napublishers.com/lville
Learning
to Live with Passion and Purpose
By Terry Taylor
For most of us,
passion is about how we live our lives, purpose is what gives our lives
meaning. I might choose my passion, but my purpose picks me. If we can learn to
be more aware of what our passions and purposes are, we can lead healthier,
happier lives. And if our passion and purpose work together, we can sometimes work
miracles.
Learning
to Recognize Our Passion
Our passion is what consumes
our thoughts and shapes how we spend our days. My passion is spirituality. Most
mornings I wake up and sit in candle-lit darkness, meditating on the next
spiritual event I am planning; I go to sleep each night with Tibetan prayer
beads in my hand. Between waking and sleeping, most of my days swirl in a whirlwind
of activity devoted to planning concerts, art exhibits, interfaith prayer
services, dinners…and on and on. The one thing these events have in common is
spirituality. I eat, drink and breathe spirituality.
So, what is it that
captures the attention of your mind and spirit “24/7”? What is it that you work
at with every ounce of your strength simply because you love it? Is it playing
music? Cooking? Watching movies? Hiking? When you can recognize what consumes
your attention and demands your devotion, you will have found your passion.
Once you have found it, learn to befriend it, but also beware.
The word passion
literally means suffering. Because our passion can threaten to devour our very
souls if unchecked, it can cause pain—for us and those around us. For example,
if we love writing, we may spend so much time at the keyboard that we ignore
family responsibilities or fail to complete assignments at work. We must be
sensitive to the fact that those around us may not share our passion. We need
to recognize when enough is enough. Clearly, we sometimes need to take a break
even from the things we are passionate about.
Our
Purpose? Why we are Here
In a word, our
purpose is why we are here. You can sometimes recognize the purpose of someone
close to you by observing their lifelong pattern of behavior. Perhaps it’s your
sister who is the person who always manages to cool people down when family
conflicts heat up. Or it’s a colleague who has the clearness of vision to wade
through seemingly mountainous details and come up with simple, healthy solutions
to the most onerous problems. Or maybe it’s a friend who can listen to people kvetch
about personal problems and then offer kind words that help a suffering person
find solace.
We may not be aware
of what our purpose is until someone points it out to us. To get a sense of
your purpose, pay attention to what people say about you, especially those who
love and care about you. If you want to take a shot at discovering your purpose
without involving others, write your own obituary. It will cause you to look
back over your life and perhaps uncover a pattern that defines who you are.
From what I read and hear about myself, I think my purpose is to bring people
together.
Passion
and Purpose Can Come Together in a Magical Mix
When passion and
purpose come together, magic can happen. Think of Gandhi who started his life
as a simple, everyday lawyer. When his passion for nonviolent direct action
came together with his purpose (ensuring human rights for all people) he changed
the world.
You and I might not
be Gandhi, but if we find a way to bring passion and purpose together in our
lives, we might just change the world…or at least our little corner of it.
Terry Taylor is
Executive Director of Interfaith Paths to Peace. He is the author of A Spirituality for Brokenness. Follow Terry on Twitter @interfaithterry
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