Let Your Passion Out.

 

So, we live in a world that is supercharged with social importance. What I mean by this is that we have to be SUPER careful not to offend people; not to step on toes, that is, if we expect to get anywhere in our careers or make good impressions on others. 

It seems to me that our entire "public" existence is mostly a front; the 'acceptable' mask we wear to reap the benefits of social connectedness. With such pressure, it's no wonder groups are popping up all over the place pushing for acceptance and tolerance.

This is all well and good, but if we're going to wait for society to change to fit our specific needs, well, let's just say we'll probably be waiting a very long time.

It is my opinion that we need to learn to be able to bathe in our hidden desires, obsessions, guilty pleasures, but above all, our passion in life, and we need to be able to do this without waiting for others to allow us or someone to say "it's ok now".

This isn't anything as trivial as eating chocolate when we know we shouldn't, or drinking even when we know we have to work the next day, those are the band-aids we place on the gaping wound of self-denial. What I am talking about is PASSION, with a capital "P". Find that thing that you not only enjoy doing, but that you LOVE to experience. That thing that adds meaning to your existence (and that probably doesn't make sense to anyone else; that's a good sign actually.). It is essential to our sanity and self-esteem to be able to indulge the parts of ourselves that have no place in society. If we want to feel whole and loved, we have to embrace every aspect of our personality.

For me, this is writing or, more specifically, dwelling on an obsession of mine. Most of the time this is some movie, or actress's amazing character portrayal. I use my artistic sense to write poems and make playlists (as seen in this post) that deepen the meaning I've found in them like a collage of metaphor; and I absolutely love this. There isn't much else I'd rather do than sit in my obsession and experience the feelings, thoughts, and epiphanies over and over again. After a while, the significance settles, and it's on to the next thing. I find this exertion and creation for my inner desires frees up a LOT of energy. I feel lighter, more in touch with myself and other people, and all it takes is a healthy dose of selfishness and isolation.

Eventually, we should all strive to align our passion with our careers and lives so that such exercises are unnecessary, actually exercising our passion everywhere we go, BUT, for now, this is a good first step.