Work and Passion

Work and Passion Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. —HOWARD THURMAN 

I remember when in college, many of us were herded into teaching because there seemed a need in the job force. But by the time we graduated, teaching jobs were scarce. The same thing happened fifteen years later when I was teaching college. Many of my students were herded into the study of business. 

But a few years after graduating, there were very few jobs. This is another way that scarcity can direct our lives. Often when we shape our interests around what others need, we wind up selling our chance at happiness for what we think will be secure. But while supply and demand may work on paper, they can build a loveless life in the world. 

This is why finding what we love, though it may take years, is building a life of passion. For what makes you come alive can keep you alive, whether you are paid well for it or not. And beyond the fashion of the job market, a life of passion makes us healthy cells in the body of the world. 

Center yourself and allow the things that stir you to come into your heart. It may be as simple as watching a candle flicker or running in the wind. Breathe freely, and just feel how these things affect your whole body and being. When you can, discuss with a loved one what makes you come alive.