I watched the movie “Amelia” about the life and death of a most courageous, adventurous woman in aviation: Amelia Earhart. What kind of person dares to follow her passion at the risk of all else? And what kind of husband has the bravery to support her? Every time Amelia dared to fly, most often alone, farther and farther away from home she stared death in the face. She so loved to fly and had such clear sense of her purpose in this life that literally nothing stopped her from taking flight again and again.
I work on an airport and see helicopters and small planes take flight every single day. I hear the roar of trainer aircraft taking to the skies, flown by pilots in training who are living out their dreams. I have known them to come down, too. I have known one man in particular who lost his life trying to learn to fly. What an awful day that was. I remember my colleagues who had been in aviation for decades saying to me, “That happens in our industry. Unfortunately, you kind of get used to it, awful as it is.” This came as a shock to me, someone who has never risked my life for passion.
But do we all sometimes feel like we would be risking our life, or livelihood, if we dared to pursue our deepest passion? What are we really afraid of? Going broke? Taking up too much time “for nothing important.” Are we afraid people will laugh? Afraid of failure? Afraid of going outside of our routine? In rushing to keep up with our hectic lives maybe we’re just afraid of appearing selfish for indulging in any activity without sound reason or promised success. Daring to follow your heart may not necessarily put food on the table, afterall.
You are the star in your own life, though, let us not take this lightly. Only you can decide to take your passion and make it part of your experience. Maybe there is a reason and a purpose for indulging yourself in what you love to do and that is because it makes you feel good, it makes you smile, it brings you joy! You may not have to risk it all to feel the thrill of your ability; you might only have to risk the acknowledgment of wanting to pursue it. And that’s not so bad, is it?
“Regularly having fun is one of the five central factors in leading a satisfied life. Individuals who spend time just having fun are 20% more likely to feel happy on a daily basis and 36% more likely to feel comfortable with their age and stage in life.” – Lepper 1996 (from The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People” by David Niven, Ph.D.)
I work on an airport and see helicopters and small planes take flight every single day. I hear the roar of trainer aircraft taking to the skies, flown by pilots in training who are living out their dreams. I have known them to come down, too. I have known one man in particular who lost his life trying to learn to fly. What an awful day that was. I remember my colleagues who had been in aviation for decades saying to me, “That happens in our industry. Unfortunately, you kind of get used to it, awful as it is.” This came as a shock to me, someone who has never risked my life for passion.
But do we all sometimes feel like we would be risking our life, or livelihood, if we dared to pursue our deepest passion? What are we really afraid of? Going broke? Taking up too much time “for nothing important.” Are we afraid people will laugh? Afraid of failure? Afraid of going outside of our routine? In rushing to keep up with our hectic lives maybe we’re just afraid of appearing selfish for indulging in any activity without sound reason or promised success. Daring to follow your heart may not necessarily put food on the table, afterall.
You are the star in your own life, though, let us not take this lightly. Only you can decide to take your passion and make it part of your experience. Maybe there is a reason and a purpose for indulging yourself in what you love to do and that is because it makes you feel good, it makes you smile, it brings you joy! You may not have to risk it all to feel the thrill of your ability; you might only have to risk the acknowledgment of wanting to pursue it. And that’s not so bad, is it?
“Regularly having fun is one of the five central factors in leading a satisfied life. Individuals who spend time just having fun are 20% more likely to feel happy on a daily basis and 36% more likely to feel comfortable with their age and stage in life.” – Lepper 1996 (from The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People” by David Niven, Ph.D.)
No comments:
Post a Comment