What Passion Are You Sharing?
Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. That line comes from one of my favorite pieces of work, The Holstee Manifesto, written in 2009 by Dave, Mike and Fabian. They are a group of young people who are living their dream, and their ideas inspire me and move me forward in my life.
Most people would be thrown by the concept of saying something to the next person that they see. Imagine turning to the person next to you in the vegetable aisle at the supermarket, someone in the gym parking lot, or the guy filling up the car with gas, and asking them what their passion is. And if you can do that, are you prepared to share your own inspiring dream in return? One simple sentence turns into quite a challenge.
My passion is my writing and photography. I am fortunate that I get to live my passion in my work as a writer. As for the photography, my eye just sees things in a different way—like a frame that needs to be captured.
I was driving my daughter to school on a Sunday for a service project, and we passed a breathtaking autumn vista of a waterfall against black rocks with orange leaves around it. I cried, “Do you see that?! It’s amazing! Look how beautiful that is! Are you looking? I wish I had my camera!” Of course my 15-year-old was more concerned with me keeping my eyes on the road and on getting her to school on time.
So after I dropped her off, I raced back to my house, jumped out of the car, ran inside to get my camera and drove back to the waterfall. I was afraid that if I took too long, the lighting would change, and I wouldn’t be able to capture the shot the way that I saw it.
I parked my car along the side of the road, walked through the green cover and blanket of yellow leaves next to the stream. For the next 15 minutes, I shot photograph after photograph both in auto mode and manually. I was in heaven. I was transported far away from anything or anyone that I knew in my life in those moments. And after I had taken the last picture, with no one else around, a big smile came across my face because I felt satisfied and full.
Being still, stopping and just being where you are in the moment...opening your eyes, ears, mind and heart to notice what comes to you. These are the keys to unlocking your passion.
Now go out into the world and share.