The following paragraph written by author Laurie Beth Jones immediately grabbed my attention:
“Despite all our external successes, the United States is statistically the most depressed, suicidal, voluntarily sedated and drugged nation in the world. Millions of us have not found the beating in our hearts. Where is our passion? What is it you would do even if you weren’t paid to do so? What are you involved in that throws you into a state of absolute concentration and timelessness?”
What if a New Year’s resolution had more to do with finding your passion than restricting your diet, exercising more or spending less? What if in finding your passion you ended up finding yourself and the person you were meant to be? Looking at my past resolutions they became more of an obsession, closer to an addiction, or maybe even a neurotic behavior which led to unhappiness and failure, but what if … what if your imagination took over?
Sam is passionate about fishing. From the time he was a little boy dropping a hook tied to a string into a mud puddle on a residential street, he has wanted to fish. That passion for fishing has grown unabated. He literally thinks, sleeps and eats fish. Sam studies fish, weather and water, so that he can think like a fish. He ponders where the fish would be on any given day. He often gets up at 3 a.m. and drives two hours to fish at a favorite fishing spot. He will not leave until the sun sets. Whether it was a good fishing day or not, he will return already planning his next fishing trip. It’s his passion. His New Year’s resolution is to fish more and fish better.
Recently I met Kate Spitz, a young woman with a vision for Columbus to have a community garden. She says she didn’t particularly like gardening at first but discovered that she was good at it. As she began to grow things, beautiful things, she wanted to grow more things. Then she moved downtown where she had no place to grow things. Gardening had become a passion and one she wanted to share with others who also may have no place to grow things.
So, Kate started doing the hard work of researching grants, talking to city officials and doing the tedious legwork for possibilities. As Kate talked about her passion, I could see through her eyes green spaces with raised beds along with community neighbors coming together digging in dirt, sharing hoes and buckets, weeding and gathering produce and flowers. What a vision. What a great New Year’s resolution.
Some people, like Sam, have always known what they loved to do. And some people, like Kate, discover what they love to do by trying to do it.
This year I’m starting small, and we’ll see how it goes. I’ve signed up for the Mississippi University for Women Life Enrichment Program’s sewing class. My junior high sewing experience was dismal, but maybe, like Kate, I’ll find out I could be good at it.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
