I knew this guy in college. He wasn’t attractive by traditional standards. He was short, a little out of shape, kind of funny looking, actually. But he always had a woman on his arm (or in his bed). These women were all spectacular in one way or another. Smart, creative beautiful women. And they flocked to this strange creature.
I had seen it before, this phenomenon of unlikely men or women drawing throngs of admirers to their sides. And it’s not limited to college campuses. It happens all the time.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of watching a duet of teenagers perform at a small coffee house. One sang, the other backed her up on guitar, harmonica and vocals. These kids were talented. Really talented. Watching them, I was moved. But it wasn’t the music. What struck me was their passion.
And there it was. The answer to the question that I had asked a thousand times.
Passion.
It’s a primal force. Some people have it and some are drawn to it. Some strive to achieve it and others run screaming when they feel it coming.
That guy, the one from college, he had it. He was passionate about everything he did. It doesn’t even matter what he did. Just the fact that it oozed from his being drew people to him. These young performers had it. My son has it when he sings or plays guitar or keyboards.
Mick Jagger has it. (Really, what else could women find attractive about him? Even his money couldn’t overcome that face.)
I like to think I have passion but I’m not sure how it looks to others. I feel passion for sure.
My children. Light and color. Writing, designing, making. Being.
And I’m drawn to passion. I get a thrill out of watching people do what they love. What makes them happy. To me it’s contagious and infectious and I always come away inspired.
Does passion appeal to you or does it scare you? Are you living your passion or hiding it away?
What gets your blood pumping?
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
love this – and I think I’m a pretty passionate person but sometimes it’s easy to lose our passion when we get bogged down by day-to-day things or when life gets hard – thanks for the reminder to live with passion!
seriously? first of all, i just sent you an overdue email and then here you are in my google reader. and second? this is a subject i’ve been thinking SO much about lately. the passion piece – my own passion, what fuels it and where it’s hiding lately – and the what-draws-people-to-the-funny-character piece. so timely for me, this post. but i can’t answer off the cuff. i’ll be back to answer for sure. (and i might have a march date for a short trip to the north…)
that last photo intrigues me!
Art. Motorcycles. SPEED. (racing speed) Paint. quilts. Making. (anything) food. connections. family. (my family and the family I have created without blood ties). my daughter. (the best for last)
Honestly, I am often too tired to really feel the passion I know is inside me. I like myself best when I somehow let it escape.
I also believe, and have for awhile, that it is the secret that so many search for. Some have it, most don’t, but it is always attractive and to me inspiring, admirable, and magnetic. It is what draws me to people. Those that have an amazing passion for what they do. I don’t have it, not like I wish I did, not to the level that it infects those around me, I am still searching . . .
I am thinking of giving up some part time work, simply because of what you’re describing – I feel passionate about teaching children, and if I go to my regular lessons feeling down, I feel great (usually) before the lesson is finished! But I got talked into teaching adults recently and I just don’t feel the same refreshment when I work with them. So I guess that one of my passions is helping kids. I can fake it with the adults class but it is exhausting instead of refreshing. Thanks for helping me think that through…
I have met a very passionate guy (a ‘prophet’) who was scary in his intensity. I did believe in him and didn’t think he was a fake, but the intensity of his passion was unsettling.
I knew in the first paragraph the answer was Passion. And as a short, a little out of shape, kind of funny looking guy – thank god for that. Also, I find it to be the most attractive quality in a person. I like to live in my passion, follow it, and I am on a current quest to uncover when I am hiding it and to reveal for what it is. And, you are immensely passionate. It may be Commonplace place to you – but it reads as passion to me.
Passion for sure. And something that goes with it – a total lack of fear.
I noticed it the first time I saw my husband – who, in all honesty is a little short, a little out of shape. It was the first day of college, and he just.wasn’t.scared. Everyone else was terrified, and hiding it to varying degrees, but there he was, and oh.
I find that I have some passions (like my children) that are always there, and others that ebb and flow. Sometimes I wish that I had that *one thing* that always rocked my world, but I think I like exploring too much. The things I always come back to are photography, beautiful literature – reading, but I’d love to try writing – and working in color, whether that’s through sewing or knitting or just doodling with pencils. Oh and food! mmm… food….
You are so passionate and it comes through as electric and inspiring.
I am passionate about artistic exploration — whether it’s through photography, painting, drawing, sewing, knitting. I’m also into art, color, learning, reading, photography, movies, great food, laughing and of course, my kidlets.
I wish I were more passionate about exercising, cleaning things and managing things.
I think that is very interesting. I have always wondered why I attract people to me, I don’t feel like anything that special. But I do have passion. And as I thought about my 300-mile round trip I have taken every week for the last 7 years, to sing in a choir, and how all those friends in that choir feel closer to me than anyone at all in this town, I think my passion shows when I come that distance just to practice in a choir. My director loves me, and when ever he introduces me to anyone, he includes the long commute I make.
What draws me to drive that far? Passion for a good choir to sing in, passion for good music, and my love and devotion to the wonderful director. This is something everyone feels in that choir. We are very loyal to him, because he truly loves us, and is passionate himself. About music, his choir, and us as individuals. We all feel like he is a close friend.
You made a very good observation, and have solved a quiet question that has been bouncing around in my mind for a very long time.
Thank you
~a
I am so drawn to passion. For my senior project in high school the only constraint we had was that the project had to entirely focused on our passions. We had to identify our passions and then celebrate them in one way or another. I loved that project so much. It almost didn’t feel like work and even now I talk to people about that project and how it helped mold me into the ‘me’ I am today. I think realizing my passions in high school helped me have direction and drive in the most tumultuous times and have guided me though muddy waters. These words of yours today are amongst some of my most favorite ever–you really struck a chord with me on a day I was feeling a little bit less than filled with passion (because, really, when a storm is coming this time of year passion is hard for me to muster)
Ah, one of the great contradictions of life – contentment vs passion. I am a passionate person. I am drawn to passionate people but I often find that passion comes with drama and complications, especially at those times when it would be nice to have a cup of hot chocolate in a lawn chair at the lake instead of a raging espresso and heated conversation with a Jean Reno look-alike (which I did and highly recommend….
That being said, where is my bevy of man-candy smart guys??
It’s an energy, right? The best is when people experience passion and invite others to share. Those are the times when I feel joyful. It’s the best.
oh, these are good questions. really good questions.
fatty is passionate about everything he does. everything. and me, i run high and low, depending on the day. i wish i knew how to embrace it better, to run with my feelings. i keep trying….
I think I’m one of those people chasing passion. I think I’m getting close, but haven’t completely found it yet. Day to day life seems to be sucking up all my time. But soon that will slow down and I’m determined to live that life. Thanks for giving me more to think about.
Ahhh, passion. Such a lovely, lovely thing. I have a brother that has no passion in his life, and it makes me feel very sad for him. Passion is my life. It’s my favourite drug. Just for the record: passion = contentment for me.
I used to love and chase passion…you have made me think…I don’t know what I do now…hmmm…
In just the tone of your post I can sense a renewed notion of passion in you. That, somehow, in simply identifying the notion, you’ve unearthed something you’ve been struggling to identify lately. Maybe I’m reading it wrong, I only know you through the blog?
Personally, I’ve been struggling because I know my passion and the reality of life is holding me back from pursuing it. Damn mortgage, damn physio, damn, damn, damn! But maybe it’s really the fear, like someone said? Oh, more thoughts to distract me from the job I do to pay the bills. The job that leaves me frustrated and exhausted because it no longer is my passion.
So much to think about now.
Very thought provoking post. There are things I really enjoy, but now it’s got me thinking. Do I have passion?
Love your photographs!
I think if we were to meet, we would have much to talk about. I am passionate and sometimes it consumes me. It goes both ways, the consumation wonderful, productive, and also over powering, overwhelming. Even in passion, sometimes there occasionally needs to be a balance, I guess. Interesting subject, one I will contemplate all week.
i love this post! it’s so worth thinking about what our passions are and it’s so worth thinking about what it is about other people that makes their passions show. thank you for stopping by my blog so that i was led here.
Great photos. Absolutely, it is the passion, the joy of living, that people have that make them so attractive. I had a hard time allowing myself to be passionate about things it wasn’t proper. But now that I’m older, I allow myself to be guided by my passions, my quilting, my genealogy, my family, and I don’t care if that makes me more attractive, but I would like to think that it does.
Passion scares me. Too much intensity makes me feel weak and bleak, as if I don’t feel enough. Silly, really. Over the years I’ve learned that passion comes in many shapes and expressions. Me? I don’t know, really. Other than my family; idon’t know. Must meditate on this….
music. I hear it in my head 24/7…i mean ALL DAY AND NIGHT…some ppl dream in color, I dream in music… i have a catalog in my head that I know would rival any great dj or iPod!
my favorite music of all time? Mahalia Jackson. Her passion, so understated, yet her absolute devotion and passion to her Lord, well, it’s inspiring and amazing… I used to say, If I just had to choose, I would rather be blind than deaf…now that I am older…it’s still true. I love the music in my head, music that flows through my ears, sounds from our ranch in the wee hours of the morning (nature’s music) and a favorite hymn sung in the last moments before a sleeping child falls asleep for the night…and sometimes even a hymn sung as a mother slips off into eternity while angels stand at the foot of her bed, only waiting to take her hand until a grieving child has the chance to finish singing her into glory… music. That’s my passion, my heartbeat and understanding of all things great and small…
my second favorite music of all time…seriously…don’t laugh.
Neil.
Neil Diamond. I get him.
hey there. i know what you mean about feeling the passion.
languages. education. my children. books. writing. food. a whole lot of things can get me all worked up.
Great blog. Passion makes us feel alive. It explains so much about our lives and relationships. Have a great day.