Friday, January 19, 2007

Passionately Yours

Passion -- I hear that word all the time used in various contexts. It's an easy word to say too. Passion. Pa-shun. Pas-yun. Pashon. Pah-shin. Passion. Passion Everywhere we see it, we hear it. It's on perfume, for crying out loud! And a fruit is named after it too. And it sounds incredibly similar to something close to women's hearts: fashion. It's one of those words that we spit out liberally because it sounds goodin life. Real passion for. Passionately done. Extremely passionate.
Do we know what it really is though?

I work ridiculous hours. Something to the tune of 10 to 11 hours a day (on average). I don't mind my job; it's pays the bills after all. And I know for a fact that working long hours (beyond comprehension) is something common. I know of people who practically sleep in the office and go home simply to shower and to catch a few hours in the land of nod. Can you, however, say that all of us have passion in what we do? I think not. Some people do it simply because they have no choice; they have to do it. Others do it because it's what everyone else does. A variety of reasons, really.

Where does passion fit in though?

On a personal note, passion is when you look forward to something. This is not to be confused with something you don't mind doing. You actually have to really cherish this particular something (or someone). It's more than refuge, it's more than relief. And neither is it an obsession. It's something that you want to enrich and learn more from/about. And here's the clincher: it's something that you may possibly not have any kind of return from.

Big names like Michael Jackson, Madonna and Britney Spears -- I'm sure at one point they were all passionate about singing. And they probably still are. Money, however, is part of the equation now though. I'm willing to bet my left arm that the passion has gone down even the slightest notch. Money has the reputation of ruining certain concepts for people. It blinds us, it distracts us. Doing something for money, in theory, makes that thing a job. And a job can only be so fun... up until a certain point.

I had a colleague a few years back who used to play golf professionally. He loved the game; absolutely adored it. After a year of playing pro though, he quit... he reckons that playing for money ruined the game for him. It became a job. It started to drag. And he wanted to save his passion for it... by not playing it for a living.

It's very rare that I meet people who are very passionate about their jobs. Some are passionate about working hard... but it doesn't necessarily equate to loving what they do. And others are, of course, passionate about making money. And this leads us to think that they're passionate about their job but there's really an underlying cause to that seemingly painted picture. See the difference? There's a strand of hair splitting these ideas apart. And more often than not, people can't see it.

Passion is when you do something because you want to. Not because you'll get something out of it... besides 100% pure satisfaction and fulfillment. A mother who works two shifts in order to feed three mouths, and doesn't complain about it... that's passion. A husband who still finds the time in helping his tired wife to keep house after a long day at work... that's passion. A grandmother who will lend her grandson her last few hundred dollars so he that he can buy that car he's always wanted... that's passion.

Passion is unconditional love. Towards someone or towards something.

Passion is when you write your most sincere thoughts even though you know no one is going to read it. It is like creating art even though no one is there to view it. Similar to sports, it becomes passion when you give it your all every single time although no one is watching.
And passion is when you love someone as if you're not capable of getting hurt.

4 Comments:

Blogger zanas said...

yap...money ruined everything. a given scenario - this guy opened up a small snack bar selling all kinds of desserts (because that's where his passion is - creating and baking his own desserts). in the end he has to wind up the business because money wasn't coming in enough to pay the rent. money is always the main issue, either to keep your passion going or to kill it. money can kill passion. because in the end it's more about surviving. we can keep our passion going only if we are rich. but i may be wrong.

10:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There's a difference there - he was doing his passion, but was unable to continue it because he wasn't making money. Not that money made him lose a bit of his passion.

I get the distinct feeling you may have missed the point. :)

4:40 AM  
Blogger zanas said...

given your point, i do agree with you. but there are people who can get disheartened easily, give up and shut out.

...maybe my idea is from the physicals that i meet, without understanding their insides. and assessing your point again, i guess his passion still burning inside him. it's just that money issue won't allow him to carry out his passion as his career.

12:24 AM  
Blogger Nasia said...

Have been doing a lot of discussion among my friends on the exact same topic. Since i recently got 2 job offerings one with a better profile and another with a better salary. Friend advised me to take up the better profile and i replied "I am not passionate about storage. I am here for the money". Relevant!! [I work in Storage Administration field.]

4:43 AM  

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