“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.” ~ Goethe
It’s over. You have let go of the past and you are making good progress on your journey to heal. The rawness has gone, the scars are forming and you can finally breathe again, laugh again, love again. It’s time to find your pathway to passion.
Our passions as an adult often start with the inner child in us. So it is so important you’re your inner child is respected and nurtured to release your authentic and creative aspirations. Be aware that a damaged child needs to be healed to the point where the wounds of the past cannot open, as a broken soul will build broken dreams.
If you were abused as a child you may not have had the opportunity to dream. Fear-filled day of keeping the peace and holding on to the silence took up all your emotional energy. It’s hard to have a passion for life when your life isn’t in your hands. But today you can reclaim that life and dream the dream.
As a victim of an abusive partnership, you may well have abandoned your own pathway to personal freedom as the narcissist in your life gradually made everyday existence all about them. When you live in an environment where you are criticised for everything and made to believe you are nothing, there is no point in thinking of personal desires. But now you are free to recover those desires and follow your heart.
Maybe life has just thrown up crisis after crisis and you have been left feeling defeated and overwhelmed. Or you’re dealing with chronic illness and pain. It may seem pointless to pursue notions that you can’t envisage, when dealing with everyday challenges seems to take up all your time and energy. But there is every point. Because passion for the future is a great healer for the pain of the present.
“This year I’m choosing to live beyond my wildest dreams. I wonder where they’ll take me?” ~ Oprah Winfrey
Your pathway to passion can be as big or as small as you choose. It can spring from hopes from yesteryear or an epiphany of today. What matters is that you find that zest, that energy, that longing for something that reflects your authentic self and that you pursue it boldly.
Be brave and let the spark ignite the dreams that have lain dormant. Search your unconscious for those hidden aspirations and bring them into reality. Be confident and creative in your thinking and visualise your future. Embrace the fear of change and use it to fuel the excitement and anticipation of the good things to come.
I know this sounds good in theory. whilst in reality life can be far from positive. Yet that is exactly why I am so privileged to be able to look ahead with the expectation that I have.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11
I remember the first time I ever saw this verse. It was on my first day in rehab. I had been taken there from a psychiatric ward after an alcohol induced suicide attempt. There I sat, physically destroyed, psychologically broken, emotionally wrecked and spiritually bankrupt. I distinctly recall thinking that something had obviously gone wrong with the plans for my life.
I read those words everyday for six months and with each day that I healed, they mocked me less. Today I can see that there was a meaning to my experiences and that my life was intended to have a hope and a future. And I believe that life was also meant to be lived with passion.
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. “~ Dale Carnegie
So plant some seeds of hope, sow some wishes, cultivate some longing. Open your mind, body and soul as you allow synchronicity and faith to guide you along your path. And don’t give up.
Don’t be discouraged with setbacks or despair if others don’t share your vision and enthusiasm. You are not dependent on the approval of others who may be threatened, jealous or fearful of your potential and success .It is your life. It is your path. Remind yourself that passion will keep burning as long as you have that spark of desire, and that spirit of commitment.
“May the passion to be all that God want you to be sweep across your soul like a gentle breeze.” T.D. Jakes
As for me, I have found that my faith, family, friends, writing, creating come together to help fulfill my hopes and realise my dreams . Indeed, my pathway to passion, is my pathway for life.
Top image ‘Tango of passion’ and bottom image ‘Fire Dance’ thanks to the world renowned Leonid Afremov at http://afremov.com/ All rights reserved. No part of these images may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of Leonid Afremov