Mind, Body & Spirit

By Tamela Thomas, Wellness Manager

Of these three components that define wellness and life balance, I believe it is spirit which is the hardest for us to get a handle on. We see the physical body and we think of activity, exercise and nourishment; the mind can be addressed with lifelong learning and peaceful contemplation; but this spirit concept is much, much more. Beyond how we think we relate to this world and what we recognize as a higher power, we still have some work to do—namely making time for and pursuing our passion.

What is your passion? How do you recognize or find it? Is it selfish to pursuit it and indulge yourself? Cecile Andrews addresses these questions in this month's article.
Take a moment to read this eye-opening article and give yourself enough time to set a plan to feed your soul on a regular basis.

In Pursuit of Your Passion

By Cecile Andrews, Writer, Community Educator

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is; or how valuable it is; or how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware of urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open."

–Martha Graham, as told to choreographer Agnes de Mille in Dance to the Piper

So many of us want to find our passion. At work we're often overcome with anxiety. We wake at three in the morning worrying about a report we forgot to do or wondering what an associate meant by comments at the staff meeting. Too many people live in dread of emotional abuse—a boss who constantly finds fault or retaliates for disagreement. People are afraid they'll lose their job if they speak up but they hate compromising their integrity.

So people are looking for their passion—work, whether it's paid or not, which brings a sense of vitality and aliveness. Some hope to start whole new careers, others just want a way to renew themselves after a soul-draining day. But instead of moving ahead we feel frustrated; we haven't learned how to go about discovering our passion. Our schools rarely teach us and our society rarely encourages us. Martha Graham's words can help us in our search.

First, your passion is something you absolutely love to do—something that brings you a sense of energy and absorption. Our passion springs from "a vitality, a life force." When you're searching for your passion, you must observe yourself and pay attention to what gives you energy—what "quickens" you. This quickening is a sign that what you're doing is an expression of your true self; the "one you in all time." This quickening feels like a flow of energy that comes from outside you. In fact, University of Chicago's Csikszentmihalyi calls this an experience of "flow." When you are involved in your passion, your work just seems to flow—you do it easily, you lose all track of time, and you are totally absorbed.

How can we experience this flow? Graham cautions that you must "keep the channel open." She worries that we will block this energy or cut it off.

And we know what blocks our energy. We're too busy. We hide our true selves. We let our lives be trivialized by spending our time doing things that don't really need to be done. Do our houses really have to be so clean? Do we have to take so much time to groom? Do we really have to do all these reports? How can we experience this flow if we're always rushing?

We need to commit ourselves to finding our passion. We must set aside time each day—time for reflection, reading and writing our thoughts. Then our passion begins to emerge and we begin to know our direction.

But then something else stops us: we think that we're not good enough, that we have no talent.

But Graham says that you don't have to be concerned about "how good it is" or "how it compares with other expressions." We think we have no talent because we weren't one of the people our schools labeled as "gifted." We compare what we do with others and we lose our energy. Of course, our method of classifying people even hurts the ones who are labeled gifted. Too often they're trapped by others' expectations. Whenever we compete, we're living up to others' standards, not our own. Above all, a passion is a flow of energy coming through the unique individual. As Graham says, "there is only one you in all time..."

So never ask yourself if you're good enough. Only ask yourself if you love something, if it calls out to you. Research on creativity shows that the primary thing responsible for success is not "talent" but perseverance. Just keep doing it!

So how do we begin? Graham wants us to "keep open and be aware of urges that motivate you." We have to rediscover what gives us pleasure. Too often we are seduced and distracted by the pseudo-pleasures of consumerism and it's hard to be open and aware when, as Americans, we spend the majority of our free time shopping or watching television. Too often we're too busy with our to-do lists to enjoy ourselves and we seem to lose our ability to experience pleasure. Sometimes we're even duped by success—too many people keep doing work that bores them because they are well paid or get a lot of praise and status.

And we can't do it alone; we must have support. We need help in resisting all the forces that tell us that it's too risky or too scary. The voices that say, "Who do you think you are? You don't deserve anything special!" So find two or three others you can work with and meet to talk each week. Quit hanging around people who undermine you; people who say things like, "Why would you want to go back to school?" "How can you turn down that promotion?" or "Why would you even consider leaving your job?"

The biggest barrier is our failure to perceive the importance of pursuing our passion. This is not self-indulgence, as so many feel. It is absolutely vital to your well-being and, ultimately, the well-being of the world. As Graham says, if we give up, "the world will not have it." Ultimately, when we express our passion, whatever it is—teaching, painting, healing the sick or dancing as Martha Graham did—we are making a difference not only in our own lives but in the lives of the people around us.

BIO: Cecile Andrews is a community educator and author of The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life (Harper Collins, 1997). She also writes the "Voluntary Simplicity" column for The Seattle Times.