Firing Up Your Passions

I grew up seeing an older generation of Filipinos conditioned to settle for the cookie-cutter idea of life. You grow into adulthood, you settle down young, make yourself a family, and then devote all your energies to bringing up the kids. And finally, before you know it, you’ve hit your retirement years, and sink into the proverbial “rocking chair” waiting for the twilight of your life.

It’s a common formula. Still, it is not a way of life that is exclusive to the generation of our parents and the ones before them. At times, you could see the same symptoms with folks who are (supposedly) currently at the prime of their life.

Are you a zombie? One of those who goes through the motions of life with a blank stare, drifting from routine-to-routine, allowing yourself to be swallowed by the banality of the day-to-day. It’s the widespread lethargia of contemporary life – a lot of us inevitably get overwhelmed by work, responsibilities, commitments, and sometimes self-imposed cultural limitations.

Sometimes, it’s because we’re tired (or most likely, “sick and tired”), or plain lazy, or perhaps we’ve simply resigned ourselves that this is how life is. We feel empty and unexcited, but just can’t be bothered to make an effort or don’t know how to shake off that gnawing feeling inside.

Wouldn’t it be nice to get up in the morning all pumped-up and enthusiastic to meet the new day’s promise? Wouldn’t it be good to feel that you are truly living instead of just merely existing?

Find your passion.

Discover what makes you feel alive, that which deserves your time, effort and commitment; that special something worth taking a big leap for, that keeps you going even through life’s seemingly boring routines, as well as the tough times.

Passion is not just the exclusive domain of couples and lovers. It is when you see yourself intensely driven and energized in the name of worthy pursuits, or the things and causes you feel strongly about, and give you immense joy. Being passionate means doing something greater than yourself, giving the world your very own contribution.

Whether that may be big or small, or you, young or old, able-bodied or not, is immaterial. The most important thing is that you poured yourself into something worthy of your God-given gifts, redeeming yourself from a life that is lived without a purpose, revolving solely on routine and the obvious.

Do not settle. Demand for more in life. Because a life without passion is a life not lived at all.

There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

Nelson Mandela

Taas Noo, Filipino!

Lalaine Chu-Benitez