A friend and I were recently talking about passion.  He told me that he was speaking with a woman and asked her to write down 10 of her passions.  She couldn’t do it.  She had 2 that she could write down.  He gave her leeway.  He offered to let her break down one of her passions, music, into musical categories.  She couldn’t.   She said that when she finds a partner, he will define her passions (this is an alternative lifestyle and often the needs and wants of a person are defined by his/her partner).

Even though the relationship is alternative, my friend was amazed.  He was telling me that he couldn’t imagine wanting a partner who didn’t have passions of her own.  He wanted to be surprised and delighted and opened to new experiences by his partner.

In tribute to him, I share 10 of my passions.  I’m sure I could come up with so many more but I will limit it to the ten.

Passions

  1. My niece and nephews – This is the truest and deepest form of love and passion that I have ever felt in my life.  I’m overwhelmed, overjoyed, and ripped apart by it.

  2. Dakota – yes, he’s a dog.  For me, though, he’s so much more.  He has been with me through some of the roughest times of my life.  I cannot imagine what my life would have become without this beautiful beagle to cry to, to talk to, to cuddle up with when I was at my loneliest.

  3. My siblings – If anyone was graced with amazing siblings, it’s me.  They are often my best friends, my confidantes, my biggst cheerleaders.  I know that I am where I am today because of their support.

  4. My friends – I don’t have a lot of friends outside of the online community.  I’m just not built that way.  I’m a bit shy, a bit reserved.  But the friends I have, online and off, are amazing and beautiful and so loved.  I cherish each one of them.

    5.  

  5. Learning – I cannot imagine living life without learning.  Whether I’m in school (which I love and can imagine taking classes until the end of my days) or whether it’s sharing in the passions of someone else, I want to always be learning.

    6.  

  6. Reading – I will read almost anything:  from cereal boxes to technical manuals.  However, you give me good literature, well-written history, or moving poetry and I’m the happiest person in the world.

    7.  

  7. Writing – I can’t imagine life without writing.  I know that I’m technically skilled.  Now I want to become passionately skilled in writing.

    8.  

  8. Music – There is something in every genre that I like.  I tend to be partial to female contemporary artists but I also enjoy classical, jazz, blues, country, latin, etc.  I have 300 CDs that are as varied as you can get.

    9.  

  9. Photography – There is something to be said about putting a camera in front of my eyes and seeing the world in an entirely new way.  Everything becomes beautiful to me.  It all takes on a different shape, a different life.

    10.  

  10. Nature – I think that I would die of starvation if I did not see trees on a daily basis…or mountains…or some piece of nature that is astounding in its simplicity, in its rootedness on this earth.

Ok…I could actually keep going.  I want to write about travel and food and movies and the way shadows play in the light and the way I’m touched by the amazing things people do and how politics touches my life and gardening and…and…and…

But I won’t bore you.  I will leave you with this:

I’m passionate about life and all it has to offer.  I think we are more blessed than we ever realize.