We’ve all been there before. One moment you are having a nice conversation and then the person in front of you comes alive. You sit back as they take the reins of the conversation. You’ve hit upon one of their passions and there is no stopping what comes next. They sit up straighter, they speak faster, they gesture with their hands more. You can see it in their eyes which seem to see an unseen future that they are striving to create.
The seed of every one of our dreams is passion. Something we absolutely love, feel strongly about, or just want to do. From this seed a great many things are possible and under the right circumstances a dream can grow. Our passions drive us up off our feet, insisting that we take action. Pushing us towards tomorrow. That light we see when we talk to another person about their dreams? That is their passion. That light comes from the deepest part of our hearts, struggling to be released.
What is a passion though? What are these deep currents inside of us that call forth our dreams? Our passions are usually not something oblique like “I want a lot of money,” or “I want to own a restaurant.” Usually our passions lay behind these types goals, the motivation for the things that we do. Maybe you never want to see another live in poverty again and need capitol to make that a reality. Maybe you want everyone to feel the same way you felt in your grandmas kitchen so you open a restaurant. A good example of this is my writing. I will be the first to tell you I am not a passionate writer. I struggle with it. It is not my first choice of medium, so why do I do it? I am passionate about telling stories. Through that passion I write, I draw, I create. Storytelling is my motivation, beyond selling a bunch of books or becoming a recognized author, I just want to tell good stories.
Passion is the hearth fire, the heat, the raw energy. It drives us forward pushes against limits and dares to cross boundaries. Just as there can be no forge without fire, our dreams need passion to thrive, to come alive. Yet it cannot thrive alone in its raw form. Eventually every fire will go out if it is not properly tended. This is why we need to channel that passion into something. Our dreams.
Why do we chase dreams? Because they are fed by our passions, we simply can’t help it. This can be a frightening proposition for some. After all our hearts are on the line. We can fail. We can succeed. Our core exposed for all the world to see. Yet it is through the act of chasing your passion that you feel alive. It is in chasing your dreams that we feel alive. The future is boundless, a void yet to be shaped. Waiting for the dreamers to come along and give it structure and meaning. We can achieve much but only if we are not afraid to try. In its raw form passion can only inspire us. It can only do some much alone. What happens next is up to you.