Passion

My dad served in the Air Force twenty six years. He retired when I was in sixth grade. But by then he had a bug. The travel bug. Wander lust. A passion.

My life has been full of travel. There was a week long vacation every year. We usually drove, which I have good/bad memories of! But dad always managed to get away as often as was possible. Although we were comfortable, we were not rolling in the money. But there was always an allocation for travel. We stayed in motel 6 a lot. We found way's to cut back "here" to enjoy more "there".

My mother always wanted to go to Oberammergau in Bavaria to see the "passion play" about the last day's of Jesus. It is performed only every ten years and has been for almost 400 years. The villager's have done this since praying for deliverance from the black plague and war in 1633. Dad took her on a river cruise on the Rhine in 2000 and to see the play. When she returned, she told me that although wonderful, it never occurred to her it would all be in German! But it was an experience of a lifetime, set in some of the most beautiful scenery in the world! And it combined his love of travel and her love of religious history.

I think when you have a passion, it's a force to be reckoned with. It's a drive that has it's own momentum. I think passion is the creative force in all of us. What's your passion? And how, like my dad, do you find a way to make it a part of your life-even when it isn't easy?

Don't let your passion go by the wayside because of any of the many reasons that rival it! You don't need to be rich, thin, happy, talented, retired or anything else to at least find a small space to feed your passion.

Make a pledge, promise or new years resolution to put some "passion" in your life in 2010! Plan for it. Fail to plan, plan to fail. Make it a priority and find a space, some extra $$, a bit of time to feed your passion. This will pay off in way's that cannot be measured.

So, Merry Christmas and Happy New year. But one filled with, wait-did you get it? PASSION!