On Passion

From http://inspirably.com/quotes/by-jazley-faith/lack-of-passion-is-fatal

I used to dream of greatness, and among my several longings was the wish for my words to be remembered.

Then, as I began to write more regularly and came to live for the thrill words fed me, I came to understand that greatness did not satisfy the heart of what I was after, for greatness may not last, and it is up to others to attribute any confused measure of "the esteemed" to our work. Even more, I resolved that the shifting tides of the world's fads and now-and-then-fascinations could not truly fulfill what I knew I craved, for it was not the recognition that I truly hoped, but the fervor of the written.

Yes, it was passion, immense passion that cannot be tempered. Passion that comes from our soul and is unconcerned with the judgment of others. Passion that exists not so others can analyze or scrutinize it, but rather because it demands to exist. It exists naturally. Indeed, the writer often does not choose to articulate; they are instead drawn to do so by a strange and familiar compulsion with which they live.

Finally, I realized, “Ah, this is it. All this time, passion is what I truly have sought.” And when I realized this, the greatness for which I used to long, in all its temporality and feigned grandiosity, subsided at once.

For I finally knew there are greater things of which to dream.

Pondering: Lessons from the Great Blue Heron

Photo from http://www.freeclipartnow.com/animals/birds/herons/Great-Blue-Heron.jpg.html

The great blue heron embodied my every longing.

Unconcerned by that which engulfed him, he swept quickly and with ease over the water, readying himself to land wherever he felt so drawn. As I marveled over nature’s artistry and the beauty of his feathers, I felt the sudden urge to memorize everything about this creature with whose presence I’d been graced. But alas, I could only watch with awe and wish so acutely that time would stand still, even if only for this one limited eternity in my ever more feverish life, with him the teacher, and me the student.

Indeed, the great blue heron embodied my every longing, and though the moment passed by as all moments do, I find myself sitting now and thinking, so resoundingly, “The world does have wonder after all.”