We all get stuck in ruts. It’s a hard thing.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how awesome it is to be passionate about something. I have found that my favorite shows are all about watching people talk about their passions – I watch as many design and travel shows as I can just to listen to people talk about what they love. By design I mean cooking, renovating, forging, glass-blowing, fashion, crocheting, dancing, and more. The shows about travel are often more about appreciating other people’s designs (architecture, beautiful locations, etc).
I find that the more I watch the more I feel excited and inspired! These people talk about their humble beginnings and hardships they’ve been through – their passion gets them through it. It has made me realize how important it is to find what helps you enjoy life. And no one is limited on how many passions they pursue! They just might end up being a jack of all trades but master of none. Which is where I have found myself with most things I enjoy.
Something that has been important to me personally, though, is to never add undue pressure to my passions. It is a sad thing when passions become tied to stress. So my greatest piece of advice would be to stay aware of how your feel about your passion – when it starts to lose its spark, when it begins to not feel worth the struggle, or when you feel like it is beginning to take over your life (in an unhealthy way).
For example, I have found that my best relationship with crocheting at this time is to spend my free time designing projects and exercising my creativity. I may stock up certain items in my little shop someday, I’m doing that with hats in a way, but I definitely feel more free to keep my options and creativity open. I would have concern with commissioned products for the same reason. Once you feel your passion hurting you with stress it’s time to take a step back and change how you pursue that passion.
I have even felt this struggle with pressure grasp my relationship with God! Sometimes I’ll get it into my head that I’ve got to keep my time reading His Word super structured, but that just isn’t true. Once I started learning about different ways to spend time with God (which I will expound on later!) it felt so much more natural, but also respectful. A lot more respectful than forcing myself to stick to a strict “routine.” Routine is not a nice relationship word, haha! With everything and everyone we love, we gotta be ready to shake things up and keep it fresh.
This reminds me of how I used to journal when I was 12. I had so many things I tried to write down and record every day that eventually I overdid it and burned myself out. In the past few years, since losing my late husband, I have found that my favorite style of journaling is to message myself during the day and compile all the messages later on in a document I can print. I always write the date and journal entry times, but other than that it’s open to whatever I want – thoughts, prayers, poems, lists, habit record keeping, anything! And if I miss a day or two I might be a little disappointed but I realize that I just didn’t feel like journaling that day and it’s fine.
Can you say it with me? LESS STRESS. MORE JOY.
I’ll be texting myself that for the next few days, to remember, haha!
What are some passions in your life? You know I would love to hear about them!!!
