Passion

I don't really believe in coincidences. So... a few events from today have me thinking. In the shower this morning, I got thinking that I'm really not passionate about politics like some of my friends are. These thoughts probably came from the September 11 posts on facebook yesterday. I mean, I lean to the right. But I'm not like 100% enamored of Mitt Romney and I don't 100% HATE Barack Obama. My three kids ALL have health insurance for the first time in decades and I have Obama to thank for that. So I'm just not passionately involved in politics. Some people think I SHOULD be. After all, this is my city, my county, my state, my nation. I should CARE who is leading us, right?

 

And I do. But not as much as I care about, say, the fact that Ashli is having Braxton Hicks contractions and leaking breast milk when she still has over two months until her baby is due. I'm passionate about the health of my daughter and her unborn child. I'm passionate about Race for the Cure, where my family gathers every year to honor our Mom who lost her battle with breast cancer in 1987. I'm passionate about FINALLY getting my college degree at the tender young age of 45.

 

This afternoon, I attended the first EVER "Common Hour" at Utah State University. I am a distance learner, where my classes are broadcast from the main campus in Logan to our campus here in Ephraim, so I saw the presentation live via broadcast. The speaker was Spencer West, a young man who had both of his legs amputated just below his pelvis when he was 5 years old due to a muscular disorder. He just climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (sp?) in June and he is a motivational speaker. (Granted, one who makes $5000 per appearance, but still....)  

Well, he talked today about finding what we are passionate about and then doing that for a living. You know, so I'm like "Hmm... maybe I'm supposed to be thinking about what I'm passionate about, since I've had this word in my head twice today." So I drove over to the little pioneer heritage park in Manti this afternoon, and ended up thinking that I need to try once again to write a novel. I gave up so easily when my first one was rejected.

 

On my way home from Manti, I called Ashli and she said she was on her way to Ephraim. We sat in my front room and talked for a couple hours, and we talked about some mutual acquaintances of ours, about whom Ashli said--and I quote-- "They just aren't PASSIONATE about anything."

What? OK. Three times in one day.

 

I had FRONT row seats to a concert tonight. Seriously. One day my husband loaned ten bucks to a guy at Maverik to buy cigarettes. The guy is a DJ for a country radio station, and he never forgot that favor, so he gave me and Ken FRONT ROW seats to see Lonestar tonight. They are this band who have been together for 20 years singing songs about their wives and kids and stuff in life that they're passionate about. Great concert. Great seats. Great way to end my day of thinking that I'm about to embark on some kind of journey to find my life's passion. Think Stephenie Meyer. Think that British lady who wrote Harry Potter. What was her name? How quickly we forget. Think Ben Affleck and what's his name. Matt Damon. Who were watching the Oscars in a crummy bachelor one year and nominated the next.