Life and Passion

I read an article recently that was a commentary on how so few people have a real passion or interest that drives them in what they do, especially in terms of what they do for a living. I couldn’t agree more. Ask someone what they are interested in and what comes out of their mouth always sounds like a profile from a bad personal ad. “I love my family, and my friends. I also really enjoy traveling.” That could be rubber stamped on almost everybody I know. Are we really so uninteresting, so utterly fungible? I guess that’s an insight into the commonality of the human experience, but it doesn’t exactly explain why we choose the professions or undertakings that we do. On the other hand, someone who says, “I hate my family. My friends are dirtbags, and I’m never leaving Paducah Kentucky.” That dude has a story to tell, and he probably loves his job at Hot Topic selling eyebrow rings to teenagers.

As for the rest of us, I’m not sure exactly why we end up doing the things we do. What are you passionate about? For that matter… what the hell am I passionate about? My family and my friends are important to me, but one can’t exactly make a career out of being a brother, a son, and a drinking buddy. What else is out there? The stuff that I own is nice, but it’s just stuff. I honestly don’t think I would lose any sleep if all of my possessions were incinerated. (I’ll qualify that. I might shed a tear for my new t.v. That’s fifty inches of sexy!) But where does that leave me motivation wise? Well, I’ve been thinking about it, and it’s troubling.

On a certain level you almost have to be envious of the crazy guy on the corner with the sandwich board that says, “REPENT; THE END IS NEAR!” (Although they usually don’t go with a semicolon. I guess it’s really a style choice.) Honestly though, that guy gets up every day with a purpose. The illuminati ninjas from outer space are plotting to overthrow the government, and he has got to get out there and fucking warn the public! I mean, he’s a screaming lunatic… On the other hand, his particular brand of lunacy gives him a reason to wake up each morning and feel like he’s on a valuable, necessary, and ultimately satisfying mission. That’s passion people; passion that most of us will never know. (Another semicolon for you.)

For us though, the mildly interested, the pedestrian, the ironically detached, we wake up and have to drink four cups of coffee to stay focused on our jobs. We grumble and groan and make sarcastic remarks because the earnestness of passion eludes us. I think that’s just a truth for most of us though. One simply can’t be that passionate and have a functioning existence. Anyway, if you ever see me on the side of the highway looking disheveled and wild eyed with some poorly lettered gibberish on a sign. Don’t feel bad for me, cause I’m out there fighting the good fight. Those space ninjas aren’t going to take us down, not if I have anything to do with it.