May 5, 2004
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Passion
Passion
Not long ago someone I've known for about twenty years stopped by for a visit. He'd moved to Nebraska so I'd lost track of him. I've never been to Nebraska. Don't know how I missed it, but I've never been there. Anyway, he said I was passionate. I said, Really? Do you think so? There was no doubt in his mind. Never having thought of myself as passionate I was surprised. But I suppose he's right. About some things I am. I used to make my guitar teacher cry when I talked about music. No, you dork, he wasn't crying because he couldn't escape. He was crying because I think music is beautiful and I was eloquent when discussing it. That was passion. I won't paint unless I'm passionate about the subject matter. The thing about me is the contrast. As recreator said in a comment, James you're so minimalist you're almost lying down (?? does that work). I like being able to choose about what I express passion. Choice is something people generally think they have and don't. As I gain more I appreciate how little I've had my whole life. No, I'm not talking about being a victim. I'm talking about not being able to make choices because I wasn't present in my life.
Most folks are passionate but they have little choice concerning what will arouse their passion. I was talking to a friend about a banner for the site and suggested a marionette with the strings cut. He didn't pick up on it. I guess it's too obscure an image, but it's what I'm attempting to be. We're all controlled by so many things that pull our strings but we don't know it anymore than a marionette knows it's a marionette. The problem is we can't cut all the strings at once or we'll collapse into a heap able to do nothing. We need to cut those strings one or two at a time and then learn how to work the part was worked by the string. It takes a long time and much practice. I'm passionate about being free from the things make me jerk and move which I didn't choose. Reading almost anywhere will get some folks aroused. This whole treatment of detainees and prisoners of war is a good example. People get passionate about it. They say extreme things with little or inaccurate information. The fact is the world is a violent place because humanity is violent.
One cannot change violent humanity. The system I practice is a system for those who wish to change themselves not for those who wish to change the world. Most will agree it's the only sensible way to approach our world but the strings won't let them do it. Then they don't know how to cut them. And even if they did they'd have to know how to exercise to get motion in those parts were always being yanked by outer events. That's more work than most people are interested in attempting. They get distracted by love affairs, wars and events. It takes passion to continue with the difficult process. So, it seems my friend is right. I am a passionate man. And it seems my friend in New Zealand is right too. I can be as cold as a fish. All these things reside within me. And there's room for more.
Comments (34)
A number of interesting observations in here... Thank you.
you are many many many many many things. isn't it funny this need to pin things down?
i'm still stuck in change-the-world mode..... i probably always will be, too, because i don't yet want to change myself..... but i guess the best thing to do is to learn to find my place, and let a meteor change the world.
(btw: i'm passionate about spanish reds (peanuts), nutty bars, good bourbon, The Simpsons, and the art of communication.)
I began ripping those strings when I was a just a little girl.. not cutting ripping... yeah not always that effective but it's been in my nature to seek independant thought and action. I'm not comfortable with going along with the crowd at all. EVEN when it would be healthy for me to do so. SO yeah. I'm a jackass, but it's served me well. I survived it, being me, and that's says a lot.
I consider myself an anarchist, too. I don't think I need laws to tell me how to live my life. BUT I'm not an idiot so I understand that most people DO need laws to tell them what to do, what not to do, to protect other people from them, etc. so what I believe is totally unworkable with most human beings involved... kind of like what you're all about, eh?
Cutting strings is difficult, especially if you've grown to depend on them...
LOL..
don't cut all those strings, or you'll end up needing a viagra prescription!
What if we're worse at running the show that the master behind the strings ever was?
This is good reading again. As I have mentioned before, you can only change yourself. Realizing that fact is a beginning of cutting those strings. I like what you've done with your site so far.
i love the marionette idea! and i'm all about changing myself first and then the world (if that even ever happens, which i doubt). i told you i've been doing meditation lately, haven't i? it's terribly interesting, all about pushing our personal thresholds so we can take more and then eventually be at peace. i've got a long way to go though
the marionette works for me too. i would have gotten that in a second without needing an explanation. it's obvious to me.
brother love, take the travelling show on the road. i'll pack up the babies and grab the old ladies, eh? ::heart you in Canada::
Love the new banner!! Beautiful...
Passionate is good! Change yourself and others may follow. That is good for the most part.
While reading I was reminded of Pinocchio "I've got no strings to hold me down..."
My passion is often dictated by what's going on around me, though I will say nothing riles me up like self-preservation and the well-being of my kids.
I like the new banner!
-M
As much as I try to cut some strings, there will be others that can never be detached. And as much as those can't be detached, there are some that I hold that keep others going. It's one big web we all make. Some just like to make it vibrate a little more than others!
Great banner. Very colorful!
You came across as a passionate man in this blog.
Oooooh, I like the trees and bridge up there. A little dark, but kind of what I had in mind. Now if they could put a pic of you under the tree, and Buddy chasing ducks across the bridge... that'd work just fine!
Can't wait to see what the marionette idea brings!
I am an extremely passionate person as well, but it's seldom obvious. Except with Isaac. Our relationship was always passionate -- passionate love, passionate hate...*sigh* Life is so much more fun that way.
Being string free is a worthwhile endeavor and one passion I share with you. Learning how to do it and doing it when one has no power to do anything is the hard part. It's good to have company who can teach each other what they have learned in this process.
Nice banner James.
Steve
You've been to Kansas, right? Okay...then you've been to Nebraska. Trust me.
And...don't call me a dork here in public, buster.
And...you only paint if you're passionate about the subject matter? Hm. Guess you'd paint me into a corner then, wouldn't you, James? Mahahaaa!
Have a great evening, sir.
i guess that's what i use astrology for- a tool to look at the strings and figure out how to work them ourselves.....
You always make me think, James. Thank you. And I love the marionette idea, too, perhaps with only a few strings left on........
One voice.. singing in the darkness........ and before you know it.. you have a choir.
Start at top and working down.
Your banner...when I saw it I instinctively:took a deep breath, sighed, felt peaceful, and remembered to trim my bansai plant
It is hard to not retie the strings for my puppeteer.
It's funny how many people are under the allusion they can 'change the world'. The world is the world, the only think that makes it one way or another is the occupants. I can't change a fish into a swan, but I can find out what swims in my own soul and get rid of the funk.
Passion, oh there are the oddest things that stir my passion. It's funny, because I never quite know what will at any given time evoke that frenzy of emotion and movement until it's already upon me. It's a like a big suprise, wrapped in shiny paper and silky ribbons. You take a long time removing the wrappings because they usually are just as important and exciting as the contents, sometimes more.
Or, i'm insane. Which is still the most likely story of all.
I like passionate, it makes for good reading material. Stay passionate, James. Sometimes I have a rough time following you but you make me try to think anyway. I need the practice thinking and I like getting passionate about what you write.
Love the banner.
Pinnochio?
I'll bring the tartar sauce.
After close at work tonight I was surrounded by several coworkers all saying for me to step down because they care about me and it's not worth what I'm going through. And I have a small army of new hires who are all eager to help me. It's probably a lost battle though. On the other side, stepping from my position would be a relief, but I want to do it on my terms, not be bullied into it.
The garden will alway be beautiful in my heart and memory irrespective what anyone else says.
I've always seen you as a passionate person. That's what makes your blogs come alive for me.
ohhh I loved the banner at the top.... and your Blog was great....you are alway a good read...
I sometimes feel like humanity has attention deficit syndrome. We are constantly distracted from focusing on our goals by all the chaos around us. The news reporters certainly don't help, but feed us full of distractions.
Aren't we all passionate about something? Or, shouldn't we be passionate about something?
Tell us about music, James. Please?
Bravo. Once again, excellent observations. Sometimes I consider the majority of the humans out there not only unable to cut their own strings(didn't Dr. Dwyer write a book along those lines?) but are tangled up in them thus cutting not only the passion but the mere enjoyment of living. Oh the web we weave.
I think that I have passion...or at least intensity. I feel strongly about the things that move me.
Interesting...your comments on strings. Sometimes I feel like I'm running back to hook the strings back up when I get scared. No...I haven't cut all or even most. But I know that they're there.
Lisa
"As I gain more I appreciate how little I've had my whole life." But the more you try to simplify, the more you discover you are overwhelmed by how much you have accumulated during your life.
"... suggested a marionette with the strings cut." Be careful: we'll be expecting to see your nose expand when you deliver one of your whoppers!
Am
You so often see things through the same lense that I am looking through, it seems.
I knew you were passionate...my first clue was that fast motorcycle...
Oh Passion.. Having something you're passionate about is absolutely fabulous.
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