Chasing Your Passion
** First, I owe my readers an apology. I realize it has been two weeks since I wrote my last blog from Israel. After returning to the states, getting back into the normal life routines has taken some time and I am finally back to the reality of life. You can look forward to the weekly post each weekend starting this week and thank you for understanding.**
Everyone has at least one thing that that are passionate about and just sets their soul on fire. Many times we don’t always chase that passion because of any number of reasons that we can logically reason with ourselves is why we need to be practical and take a pass on what we are passionate about. The reasons may be varied but no matter what, when we take that pass we find ourselves feeling a little bit lost and always drifting back to what could have been. Some of us take that bold leap and dive right in and never look back. It may be a struggle from time to time but we push ahead because we know in the end it is all worth it. So why do some of us dive in and why do some of us take the pass? For those who dive in they are the ones who take the leap because they are brave and willing to take the risk for the reward at the end. For those who take the pass it is because the safe way makes more sense because the fear and the unknown are enough for us to miss out on what we truely are driven by.
You have heard me talk in the past about by love for dance but love is not a strong enough word. Dance is my PASSION, it sets my soul on fire and nothing, except my children, makes me happier. Dance gives me an inner peace that I can not explain but it has been the still steady voice that I have needed at the greatest and lowest points of my life. And as I sit here and try to describe what it truely means to me and how it fills my soul I have to admit that I was one of those who took the pass on this passion. My love of dance and the pass that I took has been by BIGGEST regret of my life and one I have wished I could have gone back in time and changed. The reality is that if that had occurred I may not have my children or have had the opportunities I have been blessed with because it would have taken me down a different path and I would not be the person I am today. The greatest part of what may seem like a tragic story was I took a pass on that passion but that passion kept chasing me and I am so grateful it did.
When I returned home from college I stopped dancing for a year and then dance came knocking at my door with a community audition at the local college. That opened a door that gave me a dance family and a home that I have not idea where I would be today without. The funny thing is that the person who pulled me back into dance was the man I bought my dance shoes from most of my life and who’s shop was just a magical place for me because of all the dance things it had in it that I just wanted to explore. Through three kids, a divorce, life tragedies that I never thought would touch my life, and all of the beautiful moments with my children and my life, dance has been a steady part of my life and soul that has been my lighthouse through all the dark storms. I haven’t waited for the storms to pass I have danced through them and came out on the other side of the rainbow because of dance.
Life has a funny way of giving you exactly what you need in the right time and, though I will always wonder what if in my dance career, I have been given an opportunity to chase that passion with my whole heart. Timing is everything and for the last few years I have made some major life changes that have made it possible to take this opportunity and run with it. For most of my life I have taken the safe path, the easy one, the one most traveled because I was afraid of the unknown and didn’t have the faith in myself to make a leap of faith. The last few years as my faith has grown, my faith in myself has grown and I have taken some great risks but they have been the right ones and have paid off. For me, this road was the right one whether I want to admit it or not but it made me who I am and prepared me for the next uncharted path I am about to take. But there is another reason I am writing this blog and sharing this personal story.
About two weeks ago, my oldest came to me and told me she wants to go back to college and study theater. The “safe” arguments that I heard from my own family jumped to me ears but I stopped before they escaped my lips. As I listened to her talk I was reminded of the young adult I once was who was encouraged to take the safe road so I wouldn’t worry my family and be a starving artist. In that moment I offered encouragement not fear and told my daughter that she needed to chase her passion. Who was I to tell her that she needed to worry about how she would live, that theater work is not steady and what would she do to make ends meet. I knew that if I allowed those fears I had as a mother to escape my lips that my daughter, who is SO much like myself at that age, might do the same thing I had done and I didn’t want her to carry the regret like I had. Instead, I encouraged her, told her she would have to work really hard, and told her if this is what she really wanted I was behind her 100%. She is braver than I was at her age and maybe that is because I have tried, though I have failed at times, to encourage my kids to do whatever they wanted. Working a job is one thing but chasing that passion that sets your soul on fire is like flying. The joy and light it gives to your soul is an amazing feeling that no one should be discouraged from chasing. If you are not chasing your passion then I ask, what are you waiting for?