Clarise the Poet's Guest Post: Pursuing Your Passion - A Way of Life
Happy Friday, my lovely readers! I sincerely hope you've had a week brimming with adventures, learning, and pure joy. Today, I am beyond excited to introduce you all to one of my dearest friends, Clarise the Poet! Clary is many things - a tea fanatic, a sock enthusiast, and a complete goofball, but also one of the most introspective and eloquent people you will ever meet. I know that in today's guest post, Clarise's beautifully composed piece will bring you as much joy as it brought me. She's magical that way - she never ceases to inspire. And without further ado, I shall hand the pen (or keyboard?) over to my amazing friend. Take it away, Clary!
In a recent conversation with my lovely friends, we tackled the dichotomy of passions versus hobbies. We all went around weighing in on our views on the topic of the hour (or rather, the allotted 45 minutes we have to eat lunch and converse), contrasting what we do for fun and what we do with seriousness.
Since most of my friends are creative writing majors, like myself, I found that their serious passion was writing, in some form or another. What distinguished this from side-gigs, such as singing and learning how to play the piano, was the fact that many of them felt they built their life around words. Of course, at school, we devote 90 minutes to creative writing every day, but many of them felt that their passion was with them always and not in a set space.
To be a writer is a way of life. To have a passion is a way of life.
Everyday, you live out your passion; there is no way for you to “deactivate” or “turn off” your passion for something. For me, I feel like a fish out of water when I’m not carrying a notebook and pen around— inspiration can strike at any minute and so I always have to be prepared.
However, with passions also comes seriousness and pressure. As a writer, I recognize my full potential and thus I am always challenging myself, allowing my internal editor to run wild. There is this constant pressure for me to be “good” or “the best”. (I might also add that I am quite a competitive person and however hard I endeavor to cease comparison to others, in my art I feel that there is always need to “be on top”.) In this way, writing is both my greatest joy and the biggest lesson of my life, as I learn to overcome the stories in my head. This seems true across the board with any passion. For when we have a talent of any kind, it can consume our egos and cause all the fun to be lost. This is another challenge as a passionate person, keeping your art fun while also planning to devote your life to it.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are hobbies. I like to think of hobbies as Passion’s partly-superficial younger sibling. In many ways, a hobby counters a passion. Hobbies allow you the space to unwind and expand your mind. (As a writer, it is really easy for me to recoil into my head and forget to be present. In an effort to be balanced, I’ve joined a roller derby team.) By taking up hobbies that compliment your passions, it allows you to be become a better artist and a better person. Additionally, hobbies give your mind freedom and your ego the space to fail. During roller derby, I’m definitely not one of the best skaters and that’s okay. I— you— don’t always need to be the best or “most successful”. Hobbies are so important because they allow you to have a fun time and live in the moment.
Although hobbies are wonderful and a vital aspect of being a harmonious person, there’s also the fine line of being well-rounded and doing too much.
“Jack of all trades but master of none” is a good (if not old-fashioned) reminder of how too many hobbies can turn septic. Passions and hobbies are both needed, but too much to one or the other will tip the scales and cause unbalance.
When discerning between passions and hobbies, it’s good to ask yourself: “Is this something I want to spend my life doing?” More often than not, when the answer is “Yes”, you have a passion, and when the answer is “No”, the activity is more of a hobby.
When reflecting on your hobbies, it’s also good to ask yourself some of the following questions:
“Does this bring me joy?” (Thank you Marie Kondo for your life-changing insights!)
(If your answer is “No” consider reevaluating your hobby, to make it more joyful. Or you can stop doing it entirely! You have so many choices in life so don’t tie yourself to something that makes you unhappy.)
“Am I doing this to please others?”
(If your answer is “Yes” consider self-reflecting. Why are you letting others define you and what you spend your time on? Communicate with the person you are trying to please by doing this activity, tell them how you feel.)
“Do I feel like some aspect of my true self when I am doing this activity?”
(If your answer is “No” consider adjusting the activity so you can be more of your true self. One of the greatest gifts you can bring to the world is your truth and if this activity isn’t bringing you closer to your truth, it’s not worth your time.)
By adjusting your hobbies, as needed, it will make how you spend your time more healthy for your mental and spiritual self.
Which brings me to my final point: you are never too busy to make time for the things you love. Everyone has the same amount of time in the day— 24 hours— and by saying “I am too busy to [fill in the blank]” your lack of enthusiasm is weakly outlined.
No one is ever too busy to execute a passion, because a true passion is a way of life and not a periodical activity.
Of course, we all have our moments where we say “I’m too busy”, what with homework and exercise and eating food and simply the act of living. So what I’m saying is be aware of your word choice, reflect, and consider an alternative way.
For example, instead of saying “I’m too busy” you can say:
“I’d love to do that, however now might not be the right time.”
“I’m feeling a bit stressed out, can you support me [insert area of support needed].”
“I will make time to do that.”
So thank you, dear reader (as Maya says :), for coming to my Ted Talk (or rather, my guest blog post)! I wish you all the time in the world.
Thanks a million,
Clarise
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