Passion in Life

Did you ever have a day, where you’re listening to someone speak, or hear someone else talk, and you say to yourself, “Wow, I really needed to hear that message today?” Well today was one of those days; a self discovery in which I found in the words of one woman, who has made her life and her art—her passion. Rachel, a woman I help out at a gallery nearby, is a huge inspiration to me. Not only has she overcome certain goals in her life that I can only dream of, but she showed me that if you have the mindset to do something, anything is possible.

Rachel works practically 24/7 in her gallery, from paintings, to sculptures, from jewelry, to organizing art shows. It is never a dull moment in her world. There is not a day she takes off. I asked her today, “Rachel, aren’t you tired? You work till 2am sometimes, and then you wake up early to get up, and do it all over again.”
“Debbie!”
She says, with her eyes lightened up. “This is not work! This is my passion! My love; this is me! Everywhere you look is an expression of who I am. When you love to do something, it is definitely not considered work. People go on vacation, so they don’t have to work. I don’t have to go on vacation, because I love it here! This is my home, my gallery, and my life—which I love!”
I was awed by her enthusiasm. I was shocked that I heard these words come out of someone’s mouth. I was thrilled, because she was inspiring me.

Today I had to make a big decision. I was offered to publish my book with Amazon. The one thing that irked me a tad was that I had to invest a little money into it. My thinking was, “Well why should I invest, when it’s “my” book to sell?” Ideally, yes...but it has been quite the struggle finding the right publisher and venue to market my book. Amazon offers me a deal where every book that gets sold, I receive 70%. I explained my situation to Rachel, and she said something very profound. She explained that with anything you love to do, with any business, with anything you want to make money from, you have to invest a little to get a lot. The investment is a small step to where you want to be. Once you know you are ready to move up to that step, you make that conscious decision to pursue it further. Anything sold in an artistic form has a lot of work to go behind it—as with anything. For artists, it is a little more challenging due to the demand in what you are trying to sell. You are basically ‘selling yourself’ so to speak. This is an expression of “you”.

My true passion in life is writing, art, and music. I started working on my third book, and I sometimes spend hours upon hours without even realizing the time that has passed. Even while I play guitar and write music, hours can go by without me realizing it. This is the same for Rachel. Her work is done at 2am a lot of the times, but she doesn’t even realize how many hours pass, because of her love for it all.

I made the decision based on her talk with me. I am investing in my book. Hopefully a good outcome will result.

Rachel was also explaining how people these days are brought up to ‘get a job, go to school, and eat fast food’ etc. Nothing was really ever said about following your passion in life. It seems to be a trend where people starve for instant gratification, not realizing their needs for the big picture, as well as our future. We can get a quick fix from alcohol, food, drugs, sex, and smoking; however, how long do any of those last for? The effects and good feelings we get from those wear off rather quickly. Even to make a quick dollar has become more popular today, oppose from doing something you love & getting paid for it. We need to do something for 'us' that will last much longer, not just for a moment; something that will enable us to give us a lifetime of satisfaction...

What truly makes you tick? Do you count the hours when you are at work, wishing it was quitting time? I know I used to, until I got fed up with it. I always felt guilty for doing something I loved, and with her being so positive about the arts, I see things in a new light again.

I just want to thank Rachel for all her encouraging words today. It’s rare these days to find someone who truly believes in what they do for a living; to make her work---an image of herself. Not only has she molded herself into her art, but she has become vulnerable to opening herself up in the form of expression, by her creative work.

I really believe that sometimes God puts people in our lives, so that we can lean towards a certain path in our life---to make big or small decisions. Today God has done that very thing, and I am grateful.

Always be conscious and aware of what people tell you. It may be God’s way of trying to get a message across. God works in mysterious ways, and He communicates with us in various forms. Be alert!

What’s your passion in life?