Teachings: Finding One¹s Passion

December 18, 2000

Q. In general, how might one go about finding one's "passion"? It seems to me that going back to childhood interests might be one place to begin.

A. We would think that, yes, childhood often holds a hint, and for those who have ³signed up² for highly committed lives, awareness of this often manifests in childhood. For those with less stringently structured Life Plans, enthusiasm is often a useful key, particularly enthusiasm for process rather than results. In other words, it is very likely more indicative to be interested in stagecraft as an object of passion than in attending plays as such. That does not mean that you cannot be passionate about attending plays as such. We did not say that nor did we mean to imply it. However, when the end product is the most engaging, it is more likely a source of True Rest or True Play, while process is more apt to be connected to Life Task.

Another way to determine possible passions is keeping track of those interests and activities that tend to excite the senses. Does attending the symphony make you horny? Does going to art festivals "zing" the libido? Does cooking a meal cause you to feel generally excited? Also, which activities do you undertake that leave you with a desire to do more of that activity? That wish can be indicative of burgeoning passion, and of course fragments do sign up for lives in which the passion component is relatively low, to allow for more flexibility to accommodate Agreements and/or karmic debts. Also, of course, those areas of activity to which you feel yourself returning with some regularity often reveals a proto-passion.