My recent trip to Hungary gave me lots to think about. One of those things was that I realized I've misplaced my passion. What's there is a big void.... I realized this as I watched/listened to a performance in the Hall of the Liszt Academy. A soprano sang an aria from a Bellini opera. She sang it so exquisitely, so expressively, so passionately, that it grabbed me and forced me to interact with it. That's when I realized my own passion had vanished.
I'm usually passionate about many things - mariachi and the way it grabs my heart, interacting with my students, projects that have the potential for huge positive impact... but in my crazy, hectic life in which I feel overwhelmed right now, I am passion-less.
What are you passionate about? I think we use many words trivially, passion being one of them. What is passion? How does it express itself? How do we nurture it? Why do we lose it? How do we get it back?
thoughts?
Passion is definitely a word that gets thrown around. I think many people of interests, but true passions? Especially in a society where we are bombarded with so many temptations and our opinions can be skewed in the time it takes to blink an eye. Somewhere along the way, I think we've been told that we must be passionate about our work to be successful, and if we're not passionate we are not achieveing our goals. In reality, I feel passion comes and goes. Don't get me wrong, I think the underlying structure of our passion is always present and that serves as a omniscient presence, however, the degree to which our passion is truly influencing us varies. Depending on our current life situations, the passion factor might be firing at a lower level than at another point in our journey, but I do not think that is negative. In fact, quite the opposite. This constant rebirth of passionetic influence is what keeps us reinventing and reevaluating. Imagine a governement without a checks and balances system. True progress would never occur without the constant shifting of ideals that our founders had the foresight to employ throughout the birth of our country. If it's good enough for the well-being of a nation, then it's certainly important for us on a personal level. Especially in terms of an emotion that compels us to act in an extremely extravogant manner.
ReplyDeleteInstead of being worried when we feel an instance of neglect towards our affections, maybe we should be more concerned with the emotion that is driving our need to be passionate every second of our being and if we are not we are somehow failing. Where, in our development into productive members of society were we told to be passionate every second or forever have a life of unfulfillment? The word passion comes from the Latin word patior, meaning to suffor or to endure. If we think of the word in those terms, to suffer or endure, the romanticized idea of passion that so often becomes the driving force behind our reasons for being passionate does not seem like the most appropriate description of the word. In fact, definining passion in terms of endurement almost infers that there will be some strife or struggle. Although we associate it with a positive affinity, we must evaluate our definition of positive. What is a positive experience for one, could possibily be a negative for the next.
So, my thought on passion. Yes, you should be passionate about something. You should have strong feelings and strong emotions. However, if those are not at the forefront of your conscious mind each and every second, it is okay. More importantly, is the constant reinvention of your passion and what it means to you, AND how you can live through your passion to inspire those around you through that constant reincarnation.
I very much agree with Sarah's thoughts. Passion, and passion about certain things does come and go, and the reality is sometimes we need to push through our passionateless times sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by a comment of Burton's the other week that we should only do what we feel passionate about and not do what we are not passionate about. I think that very often, one can be passionate about a goal but not as passionate about the journey or all parts of the journey. Does this make attaining the goal worthless? I also think that by constantly doing something we can dull our passion for it and so it's not always a good thing to only engage in things you feel strongly passionate about.
I have also found that, particularly for me, it is difficult to stay truly "passionate" about something that I am constantly doing. I love music, and often have passion for it, but that can wax and wane depending on how much time and energy I am spending on it. This was especially noticeable for me during my time outside of school where I didn't have the same outlets for my musical creativity, and I wasn't able to spend so much of my time with music. I don't think this is a bad thing, but it does take some awareness remember why you love doing something and sometimes that passion needs reinvigorating.
And finally I think that a good productive life is one lived in balance, and we need to balance all the different passions we have in our lives in order to be successful and happy.
First,I like what Sarah said about being passionate about something but that it is ok for the emotion of passion to not always be in the forefront.
ReplyDeleteI associate passion with a feeling or emotion. One that does not last long and one that comes and goes. The best example I can think of is my marriage. I love my husband. We have been married 26 1/2 years. But loving my husband does not mean that there is great passion every second of every day. The passion comes and goes but that does not affect the fact that I choose to love my husband because my emotions come and go. I find that some of the things I was passionate about when I was younger have changed. There is a common thread, being a teacher, but who and what I an passionate about teaching has changed. The venue has changed and probably will again, maybe more than once. Like my marriage, just because the feeling of passion does not always accompany the teaching I do, I still love to do it and know it is what I'm suppose to be doing.
I am passionate about passing on what I know to anyone who wants to know what I know. I am passionate about being a teacher. I find great satisfaction when I can see someone using the information I have passed along in a successful manner. This can be a non-trained musician teaching their first grade choir how to read basic rhythm or a piano student who finally gets which way is up on the piano or my children finally getting a life lesson without making as many mistakes as I did. I love knowing and telling.
I find that I tend to lose my passion when I get bogged down in the every day things I must do. Setting schedules for teachers, talking to parents who don't understand why their 6 year old can not play Mozart sonatas with only 3 months of lessons, getting my son to practice or do his chores, doing laundry and dishes. These things get in the way of teaching. I find I can often find the emotion of my passion by walking around and observing the different children's choirs and seeing the success of the leaders and the joy of the children as they sing and dance and play instruments. It encourages me to continue to do the day to day and realize that often the day to day is part of how I get to do the teaching I love to do.
Lastly, how do I get the passion back when it has been lost? In the past, I have done three differnt things. One, I took a break. After my college auditions, my teacher and my mother would not let me play the piano for six weeks. A little extreme perhaps but it caused me to see that I really did love playing the piano and I really did want to major in piano in college. The second is to press on. In the last few years I have found teaching piano tedious. My students did not practice and the parents were contintious. I did not replace dropping students and got my studio down to one day a week. I found that while I still sometimes wish I did not have to work until 8 p.m. I do still love to teach piano and I am glad I did not just quit. Lastly, I am seeking to know more about teaching. Coming back to school, first for a master's and now for an Ed.D. is a way I am seeking to regain my passion. I find the more I learn the less I know the more I want to know and the more I want to pass on what I have learned.
While the emotions of passion wax and wane, what I am pasionate about really has not. It just took me a few years to really find it.
Passion is something I am very passionate about (not trying to be witty). The word gets said way too lightly. So many people say they are passionate about so many things. When speaking of a person’s career, I think passion is a must-have. I don’t necessarily agree with the idea that passion comes and goes. I believe that if you are truly passionate about something, the passion always stays there.
ReplyDeleteWith music specifically, I think the passion can be shown in various ways (which could be misunderstood as coming and going). For example, before my recital I was discussing how I was afraid of losing my passion for playing. However, my passion for music was just temporarily shown through other venues. My passion for playing comes and goes I suppose, but my passion for music is always there. As musicians, we can easily get burned out on playing especially if we are in an ensemble or two and in rehearsal five days a week for at least two hours a day in addition to preparing for an intense private lesson every week. However, we can always appreciate a great performance of a Mahler or Tchaikovsky Symphony, right?
I do believe whole heartedly agree with Zach and believe that we need different outlets other than music. Maybe that is why I believe the way I do about the passion always being there. I have ballet to balance the music and to keep my sanity level where it needs to be (somewhat… haha). I am just grateful that my outlet away from music still incorporates music.
I think Zach is right on about it being possible to feel passionate about the end result but not necessarily the work you have to do to get there. I know I'm passionate about one day sounding on cello the way I hear music in my head, but most of my practicing is stressful and discouraging.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the fact that the focus on the things you feel genuinely passionate about does, on the surface, come and go. You can still be passionate about something but have it on the back burner out of necessity. When pilots are flying an airplane, the goal is of course to land the plane on the ground at the destination. However, if there were some severe turbulence from a storm or something, their immediate focus would shift from the long-term to the short-term to make it through the turbulence safely. In the big picture, the plane is still pointed towards the runway at the destination, but landing successfully just can't be what they're thinking about the whole time, or else everything else in the scenario suffers.
Also, they probably wouldn't go to all of this trouble without being absolutely sure they're aimed for the right destination and runway. Pilots usually don't decide to change destinations mid-flight, even though we can change careers/opinions/decisions mid-life. But, I think making sure the desired end result is what we stay aware of and keep in mind (even if it changes), because there's just no way to be free of all the obstacles that get between us and our passions and goals.
So, I think as long as you're aware of when things affect you enough for you to feel a genuine burst of passion, you'll keep those things close to you in one way or another, but they can't always be at the front of your mind, because that's just not how things work.
Passion has definitely eluded me a few times as far as performing/playing my instrument is concerned. So I can safely say that passion can be lost. I've experienced being burned out by practicing too much, and gaining very little improvement to show for it. I think we all go through this at some point or another where the reward doesn't match the time put in. And while we may not be passionate about this one area in music, we certainly can be passionate in another area of music.
ReplyDeletePassion can be in performing music, composing music, AND listening to music. Since I'm not much into composing music, I feel that a majority of my passion lies within listening to music.
I experience my passion while driving and listening to music. I can't count how many times I would be driving and listening to an "exciting" point in a movie score, and I look at the speedometer, and I'm going 90 mph. Listening to music can sometimes give such an adrenaline rush. I need to use my 'cruise control' more often.
Listening to music can also fuel my passion for practicing and performing music. Listening to a great movie soundtrack, or whether it be Berlioz, Mahler, etc... after I'm done listening to something that inspires me, whatever lack of motivation for practicing is gone. Maybe it is because of how great the musicians sound that inspires me.
So for me, I think my passion in music involves listening to music and performing music. They go hand in hand and one or the other or both undoubtedly will inspire me in my passion for music.
At this point I think it is pretty clear that passion does come and go especially when our tedious requirements pile up (and may at times seem endless.) It is during these times when we feel overwhelmed and overworked that we tend to lose some of our inspiration and just do the work required to get by. I wonder how many people actually come into college/ a profession and looking forward to having their passions on what they love most tested on a daily basis. This probably does not happen very often and I think because there is so much focus on getting into the right college or job, we tend to forget that over time, our normal “work days” will be filled with small obstacles or conflicts that eventually eat away at our passions and may even allow us to forget how got there in the first place. I think that as we enter a profession or field of study it may be beneficial to at least acknowledge the fact that there will always be some form of tedious work / challenges that will continue to test us on a day to day basis. It may help to think back to some of the most significant moments of inspiration or it may not (if you only want to stay in the past). Regardless, in order for us to keep our passions we must continually search through ourselves and our surrounding to find that initial spark or a different spark that will keep us going.
ReplyDeleteThis of course is easier said than done particularly when we combine many non related musical tasks with playing some of the same repertoire over and over. As a euphonium player, my ideal job is to play with one of the service bands and the more I talk to the alumni that are currently in the groups, the more I realize that even if I do win a job, I will mostly likely be playing most of the same music for the majority of the time I am enlisted. However, during my preparation process I have observed myself become more and more engaged and excited about the improvements that I have made and perhaps one day I can recall those events to help propel me out of any slump or dark place that I may end up due to the constant challenges of everyday life.
I would definitely agree with upholding the idea of balance and whether be achieved through recalling significant events, watching great performances or having some kind of nonmusical outlet, it is still absolutely important to use these ideas in rediscovering what got us here in the first place.
Again, I originally wrote this after Sarah's post (but couldn't post it then), so it doesn't comment on anybody else's...sorry. :)
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I am passionate about my faith. This is the main thing about which I am passionate, but it overflows into every other area of my life, particularly into my music. You would think that I would be passionate about orchestra, chamber music, etc., but I'm not, really. Music excites me, but without God it is empty, meaningless. I can go through the whole week performing the "masterworks," and then I step up on stage Sunday morning to play a simple tune or descant, in praise of the Master...and *then* the passion comes out. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, this music touches me as well as those listening to me.
I suppose we can lose "passion" if we stay away from that about which we are passionate, and we can retrieve it by enveloping ourselves with it. Because my passion is my faith, I must constantly read the Bible, pray, follow God's leading, etc.
I love Sarah's Latin definition of "passion"! It really does require suffering and endurance, but the rewards are so much greater!
Being the last one to add my two cents, I thought to try a different approach. We have defined passion, discussed how it is lost and regained, but what about passions that are intertwined? Meaning almost of a symbiotic nature? Passions that are intensified by another, yet exist independently? Here is why I ask:
ReplyDeleteI have found myself in a very interesting predicament this semester. My passion for the harp brought me to UNT, and my fiancés passion for music theory left him in Arizona (that and the promise of a full scholarship). Our passion for each other has kept our relationship strong despite the distance. Each of these passions existed independently at first. As our relationship grew, we noticed our passion for our work multiplied! Our passions were well defined when we were together.
While talking on the phone this week Israel and I came to the conclusion that our relationship and our careers have lost some of their passion. He mentioned this after I laughed at his first question. He asks the same question every night: “So, what did you do today?” It hit me like a bat hits a baseball. I literally fell into my chair, with my head resting on the back. When I took time to analyze this, I discovered that it is the result of three passions intertwined. My passion for harp, his passion for theory, and our passion for each other grew separate of one another, yet somehow connected over my final year at UA.
With the distance we have found it difficult to focus on our work and accomplishing projects takes more time and energy. Passion has been lost or decreased. Our relationship also takes more effort just to keep up communications. Forget dates! We're lucky to just see each other twice a year. Passion is definitely lost here.
So if a passion exists independently, and another passion or factor is added in, making that passion even stronger, is it still a passion when that factor is removed?
Separate from the discussion: To be married in Texas, you must have completed a pre-marital counseling program. How do you counsel when the groom is in Arizona, the bride in Texas, and the counselor/officiator in Oklahoma? BLOG! Thanks for the idea Sarah!