Art Beat: Palpable passion

Passion is a trait that transcends your line of work. It’s not just touchy-feely artists who draw from their inner colors to paint the world. We all do in some way or another.

Whatever that passion is, it doesn’t have to necessarily be your day job. But it probably should be. Many people have multiple passions and find ways to channel that energy into their daily lives.

If it truly matters, people make time for it even if they haven’t found a way to get paid for it yet, whether it’s something like signing up for a night class or joining a local club that meets on the weekends.

We all have something that makes us feel alive, an internal drive that compelled us to pursue our passions, to find extra meaning in life with activities that give us a sense of fulfillment and purpose.

It can be a hobby or a career. It can be a massive project or a weekly habit. As long as that internal creature made of hopes, wants, and dreams is fed, your soul will find peace- or at least so I’m told.

Here are some insightful quotes from some of my favorite thinkers to back me up on this point of passion:

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

– Oprah Winfrey

“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.”

– Benjamin Franklin

“My mission in life is not merely to

survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

– Maya Angelou

“If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.”

– Elon Musk

“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.”

– Steve Jobs

“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

– Nelson Mandela

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

– Albert Einstein

“Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.”

– Jon Bon Jovi

“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.”

– Vincent Van Gogh

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann jacob.mann@frontiersman.