He wasn't sure of what made him different, but somehow he just knew that he wasn't like others, and for a six year old, that was a heavy burden. Like his brothers and sisters, he liked playing games and doing the things that little kids enjoy doing, but most of all, he loved sitting at the piano and listening to the sounds that he could make by pressing the keys.
He discovered that there were melodies hidden in the keys if he pressed them in a certain order, but it was when he pressed two or more keys together at the same time, that he felt as if his burden had been lifted. He didn't know what made some combinations of notes sound so wonderful and so right, but he would play them over and over until he had them memorised.
His was a home often filled with music; sometimes opera, sometimes classical, sometimes popular, and sometimes jazz. For a boy of six, genres don't exist, it is all just music. Until.... one day, when the boy instinctively knew, that the music called "jazz" felt like a very good friend.
Suddenly he knew that when he grew up, he wanted to become a jazz pianist, and when he grew up, he became one.
Passion. Some people find it very early in their lives, some of us along life's journey, and some of us...may struggle all of our lives to find it.
The Urban dictionary: "Passion is when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible."
After doing a particularly exciting music gig, a woman came up to me and asked: "You play with so much passion, where do you get all that passion from?" I could see that she was very serious about the question, so I felt it necessary to try to give her a serious answer. Problem was, I wasn't really sure about where the passion came from. My brain quickly ransacked my memory banks trying to find a good answer, but all I could come up with was: "somehow, the passion found me."
I could tell by the look on the woman's face that my answer was very unsatisfactory, so I quickly asked her if there was anything in her life that she felt passionate about. "Not really, I have dabbled with a number of different things that I have liked and enjoyed doing, but I wouldn't say that I was passionate about any of it", she answered. Trying to find something helpful to say I asked: "Is there anything in your life that you do, and when you do it, makes you loose track of time?
For me, part of passion is an insatiable desire for learning more, delving deeper, expanding boundaries, and extending the self while doing so. This insatiable desire brings bravery, courage, new discoveries, and whilst in the midst of the flurry of passion...time ceases to exist, all there is when you are in the middle of doing something you are passionate about, is now".
"So where do I get the "insatiable desire" for delving deeper from?" she quickly responded.
"I am not sure, but I believe that perhaps being willing to invest time and effort into something that is of interest may be a good starting point?" I answered. "I see", she answered then continued "thanks for taking the time to speak with me and I hope you never loose your passion". And with those words she left.
Is passion important?
Some say so.
Why?
Some suggestions:
It can give us a sense of purpose and meaning for our lives,
it can help us to develop persistence and a desire for growth,
it can help us to strengthen our focusing ability, and
our passion can inspire others to seek their own passions.
Although passion for many of us perhaps is quite emotionally charged; as in we may seek to feel passionate about something; may I suggest that part of passion is also an insistent driving force for a deeper understanding and knowledge of that which we are passionate about, as well as a willingness to put in the work and effort necessary to become competent at our passion/s.
The amazing thing about being passionate about something, is that when you are doing something you feel passionate about, ....joy and a sense of fulfilment often seem to seep in.
"Any kind of progress is neither automatic or inevitable...Every step toward the fulfilment of a goal requires an amount of sacrifice, struggle, and persistence, but with passion as a driving force, those steps become worthwhile."
(An "improvisation" made by me on a quote by Martin Luther King Jr.: "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.")
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