Hanging out and pondering life's big questions....

I am pondering the word passion lately.

If you too, have been pondering...this post is for you : )

I have been intimidated by the question,

"What is your passion?"

©Elizabeth A. Steele

 It seems so large a concept to grasp.

Do I have to pinpoint one thing?

What if I pick that one thing and then it turns out that my passion really is something else?

©Elizabeth A. Steele

I mean, I really have been thinking about this for years...

like I am going to have this big exam and I am going to come up empty handed.

©Elizabeth A. Steele

The other day I posted about, What speaks to you?

This question had me feeling like I was on to something, moving in the right direction.

Then, last night, another clue.

I turned on Oprah to watch Cindy Crawford on "Master Class"

I missed the first part, but stayed up to watch the remainder of her interview.

Right towards the end of her interview came those words...that question about...
 finding your passion.

©Elizabeth A. Steele

Those words are everywhere. That subject.
 If you look.  If you listen.

Cindy then told a simple yet profound story of how she discovered hers.

I rewound the show over and over so that I could quote her verbatim on the back of my stack of bills on the table.

Here is what she said:

Cindy told the story of how she went on a weekend retreat and the question was brought up,

"Have you found your passion in life, and if so what is it?"

She then went on to say,

"I had the time to actually let my mind explore the concept and think about, really,
 what is it?
What is it about modeling I like?
What is it about parenting that I like?
What is it about friendship that I like?
What is the common thread?"

What is the common thread?
I love this question.

l need to investigate.

I love to investigate.

She continued....
"I was able to identify that I really like communicating.
It was very liberating for me to kind of define that, because then when you are making decisions about other things in your life, it's like you can put it to that test.
Does it mesh with my passion or not?
Is it furthering my passion or squelching my passion?"

She then gave the example of how modeling meshes with her passion.
"Being in front of a camera for modeling is like telling a story, that's communicating."

I can put the things I do in life to a passion test.
Do my decisions in life, mesh with my passions?

Love this too!

And....another "Ah-hah" moment,
I thought, Can passion can be plural?
Why not!  : )

I am starting to feel better and better about this question.

: )

A bonus in the margins of this blog post....

Why we must say, "No" but feel ok about saying it. 

Once we begin to discover, 
and uncover,

we only have so much time, 
so lets put our attention where we can give the most of what feels natural,
comes from within our being,
where that giving will multiply,
inspire others,
and flow.


So today,
think about this....

What do I do on a day to day basis (weekly/monthly)
that I find enjoyable?

 What is the common thread(s)?

Do my life decisions mesh with my passion(s)?

Do they pass the test?

(Do they speak to me?)

©Elizabeth A. Steele

FYI:  My name could have been Cynthia.  

My mom said every other day when she was pregnant was either and Elizabeth day or a Cynthia day.

I was born on an Elizabeth day,  : )

(If we don't record the stories of our family, we'll forget!  : )