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Pursuing your Passions

find your passion

What is your passion?

Find your passion!

Pursue your passion!

I’ve been doing some thinking on my “passion” lately. It is a hot topic and gets a lot of air time these days, you know.

If we could just find that elusive passion and pursue the heck out of it… we would surely be living in rose petals, basking in success, and rolling around in feelings of fulfillment.

This somehow comes with the idea that in order for an activity to be worthy of the title “passion” it must be able to provide some rewards… whether financial gain, or notoriety, or simply for the good of mankind.

A challenging idea to contrast this thinking is the notion that we can find fulfillment and enjoyment from activities that speak to us… regardless of whether they fall into those above categories.

I enjoy writing. I can find enjoyment in the art of writing and sharing that writing no matter if it is appreciated by the masses or not. Regardless if I receive comments from the naysayers and poo poo-ers.

It goes back to my purpose for writing.  Am I writing for others or for myself? For the enjoyment and enrichment it brings to my life?

big magic

This idea is tricky to me as a Christ follower. I know that there are crucial issues in this world. Things that matter, and things that don’t. I also know that God wants us to enjoy this world He created for us to live in. He gave us our interests and talents, and it’s okay if we want to do something just for the pleasure it brings us. Even if it’s not feeding the poor or reaching the sinner.

Something else I enjoy is decorating our home… on the cheap no less. It brings me joy to make our home beautiful. Am I ever going to have a home the likes of some of my favorite home bloggers?

Negative.

Nope.

Not going to happen.

Does that mean I should stop trying? Or never share our home and my attempts to make it marvelous?

I say no.

I just finished reading a book that has brought on all these deep thoughts.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Big Magic
She is WAY OUT THERE on some things. I will readily admit that, but she is on point on this issue: Stop requiring so much out of your passions or interests. Stop expecting them to pay the bills.

Quotes-From-Elizabeth-Gilbert-Big-Magic (2)

What type of creativity brings you joy? Whatever it is… do it. Do it and do it some more. Just because you like it. Don’t expect it to always be awesome or that others will love it. They might hate it. It might get crickets.

But remember you are creating for yourself. Not for them. You are creating for what it gives you through the process.

And in the end, you are better for the experience.

Quotes-From-Elizabeth-Gilbert-Big-Magic

I appreciate Gilbert’s idea that we should not accept our creative gifts to pay the bills. That expectation creates an enormous pressure which, of course, is counterproductive to creativity itself.

I am a type A perfectionist so this is contrary to my normal thinking. If you can’t be awesome at something then what is the point right? How much more enjoyable would our lives be though, if we chose to stop focusing on the outcomes and judging our efforts by their results?

Quotes-From-Elizabeth-Gilbert-Big-Magic (3)

The only criteria then for whether an creative endeavor is worthy of our pursuit is…

Does this bring me joy?

What do you think? Do you agree with pursing your interests even if you’re not terribly good at them?

Updated… Uptown Girl

What could be better than a two month “vacation” over Thanksgiving and Christmas, right? See Part 1 and Part 2 here. While the long vacation was nice, it unfortunately couldn’t last forever, wah! You know the saying, “It’s not WHAT you know. It’s WHO you know?” That once again proved true for me when someone…

Our Eternal Optimist

One recent Friday Davis and I were doing our weekly grocery shopping adventure. We had just finished Aldi and were back in the van ready to head to Walmart for phase 2. I handed my food lover a surprise snack of grapes and in his excitement he turned over his mostly full bottle of water…

Tor-Wade-o is Eight

Our Wild Wade is eight people. If you remember, we thought we were ready for #2 when Haylee was less than two herself. We had a long wait that finally successfully ended in our second round of IUI at a fertility clinic. Nine months later we had our Wild Wade. Looking back at these eight…

Updated… Going Nuclear

When I walked away from teaching I had no other job lined up and ready.  (See part 1 here.) I had the possibility of a job that would start at the end of summer/beginning of fall, but nothing set in stone. That’s definitely what made planning anything so difficult and complicated. Thankfully, the job did…

Updated

It has been a while. I know. I’ve been through a lot of life stages with this blog o’ mine in the past 8+ years. I don’t know if I can pinpoint one specific thing that has pushed blogging to the back burner. It seems that it was a collection of things… primarily the STRESS…

Dressed Windows Finally!

Did ya miss me? I am back today to share some happy windows with you! We have been in our new place about 7 months now with curtains only in the living room. And that is only because that room had giant windows with NO blinds. Seven months later we now have prettily dressed windows…

The.Toys.Have.A.Place.

Ahhhh. Can you hear my sigh of contentment? The toys in our house have.a.PLACE. One of the things we love about our new house is the bonus room, aka… playroom! Previously in our cozy 2 bedroom house, all the toys had to find a place inside the one bedroom that all three kids shared, which…

Menu Monday… November baby.

       Poppyseed Chicken       Broiled Parmesan Tilapia      image via Things we Heart     {image via Aldi Reviews} Pizza with Nana & Pop!   If your recipe was featured today, feel free to grab a button! What are you eating this week? We haven’t had the Broiled Tilapia in ages, so I am excited to…

Menu Monday… no school!

      Chicken Noodle Casserole via Blogchef     image via Things we Heart          Vegetable Soup via Poor Amy     {image via Aldi Reviews} Take & Bake Pizza from Aldi’s     If your recipe was featured today, feel free to grab a button! What are you eating this week? To save money this week, I took…

Pursuing your Passions

find your passion

What is your passion?

Find your passion!

Pursue your passion!

I’ve been doing some thinking on my “passion” lately. It is a hot topic and gets a lot of air time these days, you know.

If we could just find that elusive passion and pursue the heck out of it… we would surely be living in rose petals, basking in success, and rolling around in feelings of fulfillment.

This somehow comes with the idea that in order for an activity to be worthy of the title “passion” it must be able to provide some rewards… whether financial gain, or notoriety, or simply for the good of mankind.

A challenging idea to contrast this thinking is the notion that we can find fulfillment and enjoyment from activities that speak to us… regardless of whether they fall into those above categories.

I enjoy writing. I can find enjoyment in the art of writing and sharing that writing no matter if it is appreciated by the masses or not. Regardless if I receive comments from the naysayers and poo poo-ers.

It goes back to my purpose for writing.  Am I writing for others or for myself? For the enjoyment and enrichment it brings to my life?

big magic

This idea is tricky to me as a Christ follower. I know that there are crucial issues in this world. Things that matter, and things that don’t. I also know that God wants us to enjoy this world He created for us to live in. He gave us our interests and talents, and it’s okay if we want to do something just for the pleasure it brings us. Even if it’s not feeding the poor or reaching the sinner.

Something else I enjoy is decorating our home… on the cheap no less. It brings me joy to make our home beautiful. Am I ever going to have a home the likes of some of my favorite home bloggers?

Negative.

Nope.

Not going to happen.

Does that mean I should stop trying? Or never share our home and my attempts to make it marvelous?

I say no.

I just finished reading a book that has brought on all these deep thoughts.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Big Magic
She is WAY OUT THERE on some things. I will readily admit that, but she is on point on this issue: Stop requiring so much out of your passions or interests. Stop expecting them to pay the bills.

Quotes-From-Elizabeth-Gilbert-Big-Magic (2)

What type of creativity brings you joy? Whatever it is… do it. Do it and do it some more. Just because you like it. Don’t expect it to always be awesome or that others will love it. They might hate it. It might get crickets.

But remember you are creating for yourself. Not for them. You are creating for what it gives you through the process.

And in the end, you are better for the experience.

Quotes-From-Elizabeth-Gilbert-Big-Magic

I appreciate Gilbert’s idea that we should not accept our creative gifts to pay the bills. That expectation creates an enormous pressure which, of course, is counterproductive to creativity itself.

I am a type A perfectionist so this is contrary to my normal thinking. If you can’t be awesome at something then what is the point right? How much more enjoyable would our lives be though, if we chose to stop focusing on the outcomes and judging our efforts by their results?

Quotes-From-Elizabeth-Gilbert-Big-Magic (3)

The only criteria then for whether an creative endeavor is worthy of our pursuit is…

Does this bring me joy?

What do you think? Do you agree with pursing your interests even if you’re not terribly good at them?

Updated… Uptown Girl

What could be better than a two month “vacation” over Thanksgiving and Christmas, right? See Part 1 and Part 2 here. While the long vacation was nice, it unfortunately couldn’t last forever, wah! You know the saying, “It’s not WHAT you know. It’s WHO you know?” That once again proved true for me when someone…

Our Eternal Optimist

One recent Friday Davis and I were doing our weekly grocery shopping adventure. We had just finished Aldi and were back in the van ready to head to Walmart for phase 2. I handed my food lover a surprise snack of grapes and in his excitement he turned over his mostly full bottle of water…

Tor-Wade-o is Eight

Our Wild Wade is eight people. If you remember, we thought we were ready for #2 when Haylee was less than two herself. We had a long wait that finally successfully ended in our second round of IUI at a fertility clinic. Nine months later we had our Wild Wade. Looking back at these eight…

Updated… Going Nuclear

When I walked away from teaching I had no other job lined up and ready.  (See part 1 here.) I had the possibility of a job that would start at the end of summer/beginning of fall, but nothing set in stone. That’s definitely what made planning anything so difficult and complicated. Thankfully, the job did…

Updated

It has been a while. I know. I’ve been through a lot of life stages with this blog o’ mine in the past 8+ years. I don’t know if I can pinpoint one specific thing that has pushed blogging to the back burner. It seems that it was a collection of things… primarily the STRESS…

Dressed Windows Finally!

Did ya miss me? I am back today to share some happy windows with you! We have been in our new place about 7 months now with curtains only in the living room. And that is only because that room had giant windows with NO blinds. Seven months later we now have prettily dressed windows…

The.Toys.Have.A.Place.

Ahhhh. Can you hear my sigh of contentment? The toys in our house have.a.PLACE. One of the things we love about our new house is the bonus room, aka… playroom! Previously in our cozy 2 bedroom house, all the toys had to find a place inside the one bedroom that all three kids shared, which…

Menu Monday… November baby.

       Poppyseed Chicken       Broiled Parmesan Tilapia      image via Things we Heart     {image via Aldi Reviews} Pizza with Nana & Pop!   If your recipe was featured today, feel free to grab a button! What are you eating this week? We haven’t had the Broiled Tilapia in ages, so I am excited to…

Menu Monday… no school!

      Chicken Noodle Casserole via Blogchef     image via Things we Heart          Vegetable Soup via Poor Amy     {image via Aldi Reviews} Take & Bake Pizza from Aldi’s     If your recipe was featured today, feel free to grab a button! What are you eating this week? To save money this week, I took…