Day 208/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
Living your passion may take a few adjustments. To be honest, it upsets me when the realise that many people are spending their whole days working for someone else's passions, and hoping to connect with their own some other time. For me its unimaginable.
My area of passion has always been central to my life. Putting my happiness and joy for my work before the enticement of the pay packet was a choice I made early. It's also the reason that I've never earned a great income. My passion is in caring for others, the caring professions of nursing, midwifery and now mental and emotional well-being. These jobs don't generally pay well.
So if you are ambitious to follow the crowd into more consumer items than you will ever make good use of, then you are probably chasing the money. I hope you can find a work environment that gives you both money and satisfies your passion. Otherwise how do you connect with your passion?
It's true that many people work to survive, and the idea of working in their passion is so far removed from their reality that they have lost sight of any semblance of those passions that once stirred them.
When it came time for me to choose my career, there was really no choice. I knew from the age of 5 that I would be caring for others. That might have had something to do with the air of unhappiness in my family of origin. Most likely.
It wasn't until one of my parents tried to dissuade me that I began to experience the effects of social pressure to conform to something that didn't align with my passion.
If you have found your life on the path that diverges from your true passions in life it may take some time alone with your thoughts and imagination to allow your passions to reemerge. Take this time. Be gentle with yourself, but do take this time. For we are creators, not machines. We are here to create from our most inner inspirations, a life that brings value in all its forms to humanity.
It doesn't matter what your passion is. Mine is caring, my sister's was preparing nutritious, heavenly food, my brothers was working on the land, my friend's is supporting families in need. It could be anything from astrophysics to artforms.
Other of my passions now receive equal care in my world. My time with my garden or my craft is enjoyed with relish and abandon. Even caring for my home touches my sense of aliveness as I was fortunate enough to create it in the image that I chose.
Solitude is a small luxury that gives you access to your passions, some of which you may feel that are lost. Begin today to indulge in the smallest way in solitude, and allow your passions to reemerge.
366 days Towards Self-Mastery
When I considered my New Year's intentions for 2020 I had just one: To allow my heart to love what it loved...and let it lead me. (If not now, then when?)
I've spent months working on integrating my life. To live life more fully with my home life, my interests, my work, my responsibilities, all coming together, all connected. I want to give each the attention that they desire and need, and still have time and energy for the others. That means living and working from the heart.
As I was clearing out my bookshelf over the Christmas break I discovered Simple Abundance. I set it aside to explore it on New Year's Day as I lazed through another delicious day of nothingness. Sarah, the author, says this book is about living in grace. Living in grace I realised, is about Self-Mastery.
My thirst for understanding the human condition has driven me all my life, and hand-in-hand with self-mastery it has been a life-long goal. And seeing as I love to write, that living in grace is about self-mastery, and I love a bit of a challenge, then if I am truly going to let my heart lead, I really don't have any other choice. So scary as it feels, I'm starting out on a daily mission of leaning into the suggestions of this daybook and making a daily post to keep me accountable. If not now, then when?
I'm Josie. You can find out a little more about me here.
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy: by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
This book is written for the Australian and NZ market because it refers to seasonal changes. It's available on Amazon here if you'd like to follow along.