Enthusiasm
Waking up early Saturday morning after a girl’s night out was definitely no easy feat. I am one who are well known for sleeping in by her friends who knew it is impossible to call her out for breakfasts. So this is what it is like doing something you are passionate in. It is something that makes you jump out of bed in the morning, regardless that you are still very cranky and your body is asking for some rest. You would get prepared with a jig, you walk with a spring in your steps to your car and you drive peacefully to where you would need to be. And then you just be. You’re at peace where you are, you couldn’t be happier, this is where you should be right this moment, right this place and this is what you should be doing, and you do it with full enthusiasm.
Passion
Is this what we all should seek out in our lives? Or is it totally overrated? Passion is what people say you can know deep down inside you and you do it with enthusiasm day in day out consistently. Is that true? I myself don’t know. I kind of know my passions, yes there is a ‘s’ there, but I have yet to experience the enthusiasm lasting day in day out the same for years. Mind you I still love to do what I do, and I still do them regardless of results or objectives. It is good to find one’s passion, because when you do something with all your heart, even if your mind does not understand why it would not matter. You do just because you wanted to and you enjoy it tremendously. And what is life without enjoyment?
Work
But back to my question of what really is passion? What is it that everyone keep saying we need to find and do what we are passionate in so that we don’t have to work a day in our lives? After so many years of searching and wondering, I realize that that notion is quite overrated itself. We all have to work, like it or not. Working on something you are passionate in just allow you to like it. But it is still work. We still have to put food on the table. We still have to be self-sufficient. We have to be responsible to people we care about, who cares for us and most of all to ourselves. When we do something, we should do it with not only our heart (where passion comes in) but also with integrity, hard work and due diligence. And all these combined are what we call work.
My enthusiasm, my passion and my work
As you know, due to my five years itch, I have given myself a sabbatical of sorts, one where there is no end date. Not many people can live with such uncertainty but I for one actually am reveling in it. While I was looking out for my next gig, I actually have quite a lot of time unwinding down from my trip (a blessing in disguise in retrospect), and most important of all I get to try out an interest of mine in a work perspective. Getting to know all that’s going on behind the scene makes one know what does one really wants in compare to what it really is. Regardless, I am truly happy in doing what I am doing. I choose to be where I am, no external circumstances got me into it. With that, I am happy enough to know. It dawn on me suddenly just now, in the midst of baking and my hands all covered in cream and dough, is that I would still be here right now at this moment even if suddenly I have billions in my account. And that my friend is how I want to keep going in regards for my enthusiasm, passion and work. If it all aligns, living became meaningful and happiness is you.