As much as oxygen is vital for the survival of the life, so is the passion for the survival of the soul. Your passion is your soul’s oxygen! Ever looked at yourself and wondered what the hell is happening!? Ever had a self-talk where your head is coercing you constantly not to give up this tug-of-war? Ever came across a street artist – playing guitar, painting a graffiti or simply singing songs and wonder that sense of calm on their face? Look closely – It is not the calm of their face, it is the sense of peace which resides in their hearts and reflects through their eyes.
“Life is what we make of it” – I came across this statement umpteen times before in various forms. It took me 3 long decades to realise what it means. My interpretation stood as – Identify what you love and let it kill you! We are running, slogging, chasing something that appears far out of reach and by the time we retire to bed, we don’t sleep rather we are as good as dead. That isn’t what life looks like!
As a child, I never liked doing math much (I loathed it!) but I loved literature in every form! By the age of 8, I completed a syllabus book on Mahabharata some 15 times. Just to share here – Researching Mahabharata is one of my passions! I have read it in every possible manner I could. I have watched every possible series (which appears authentic to my senses), I have researched every character to it’s minutest details – because it is my passion! Now – does it adds any monetary value to me? I don’t know, maybe I could become a lecturer in academia exploring this subject. Let’s forget that for a while. But, it most certainly adds value to my psyche since it explores every facet of human experiences and I relish experiencing it through the characters of this epic. And when I say relish I mean my leisure activities provide me with a deep relaxation and sense of purpose. They help me refocus not only on the activity in hand. But on everything which is important in life. Be it my career, be it my relationships or be it my life in general.
I narrated the above with two intentions: First, to show how I failed liked many others to identify my love of everything literature (Culinary Interests, Music & Creative Writing being others) but ended up being an IT Consultant. This was because I was in an autopilot mode and drifted in a direction which wasn’t chosen consciously! Not that I dread my job but I firmly believe I would have been exceptional in the field of literature and other areas I mentioned above. Why? Simply because these aren’t tedious tasks but are amusement activities for me.
And Second and imperative one, to highlight how crucial it is to have a leisure pursuit in our lives. Pursuing something that makes our heart sing, not only relieves us from the stress that we go through in our day to day living, it also brings out the best version of ourselves, not what the world or society conforms to. It provides us with an atmosphere to just be.
Most of the lifestyle disorders which our generation faces today are the result of wrong choices we have made in the long run of life. We seldom take ourselves to nature, we have consecrated technology and renounced human interaction. Little is left which could connect us back to our spirits and following our passion does that for us. My experiences have taught me that an interest when pursued ardently is as good as performing meditation. Wikipedia states the definition of Meditation as the practice which allows you to achieve – a mentally clear and emotionally calm state. And that is exactly what our Pursuits do! So please don’t be guilty of not being the part of meditation hype that’s going on if you aren’t an active practitioner already. The idea is to feel energized and positive about your everyday life, it could be planting trees or chanting Shiva – choose the trail that Your heart agrees with.
We all have faced our personal winters when it comes to our line of work. The days when we wake up with heavy hearts outnumber those, when we have risen to shine! And that is why it becomes even more important to choose to follow your heart by picking your passion again as a hobby. It provides a fresh perspective and rejuvenated zeal for the life we all love so fervently. So, Pick that Guitar, Paint the Canvas, Ascend a Mountain, Read Mahabharat for 99th time. Do what makes you feel alive! And as you wind this up, ask yourselves today – What is Your Pursuit of Happiness?
