I don't know whether that number seems impressive to you or not, but I can tell you one thing - I never saw it coming. When I started PARDYMAMA about 4 years ago, I was sitting in a cubicle, bored out of my gourd and looking for an outlet.
I would peruse the internet in between tasks like every other red-blooded American out there, and I read a variety of blogs, all having been established for years and very clear with their message, voice, and content. When I would consider starting up something of my own, the idea was always quickly devoured by insecurities: What did I have to say? Who cared? Would anyone read it? Do I have time for this? What if people hate it? Am I even good at this? And so forth.
It began sloooowly, and I would still consider it today amidst it's "early stages" though it's clear to me now that it won't be ending any time soon (a foggy option that I have probably considered a dozen times or more in the first couple years).
I started writing simply because it was 1) something to fill my time, 2) a creative outlet for me, and 3) what I needed. How much I needed it, or even why was still beyond my grasp, but it wasn't long before my habit for writing grew into a full-blown addiction.
I struggled for years to seek out a real "passion". I had a plethora of interests, I had a shallow-yet-diverse scope of talents to choose from (jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none, so to speak). And yet, I wrote and wrote with no neon signs pointing me towards a clear goal of achieving anything of grand significance. I wrote for myself, about myself, and primarily continue to do so today. My writing process has always consisted of three simple steps: Ponder, Pray, Publish. That's it. That's my magic formula.
I see many friends grapple with the notion of finding a "passion". And, in today's "gotta-be-somebody" world, this overused term can paralyze the most gifted of hearts and minds. The pressure to feel valued in a singular talent or to find the majority of your life's satisfaction within a mere resume of feats is altogether disillusioning to any normal human. We are all pretty good at a lot of things, but very very very few of us are spectacular at a solitary task.
Toss out the word "passion". Just crumple it up and curb that sucker. Instead - take inventory: What do you spend your time doing? Why? We live in chaos and stress ourselves out over the mundane chores of the day, but when we can step back and look at our routines we might start to find some consistencies, some patterns that we find we simply can't live without.
This is life, this is what you are alive for.
I was living my life's "calling" for years before I stood back and appreciated it for what it was. I was just being me, being honest, following Christ as best I could, living out the process that it takes for me to function and improve and fail and need and seek and find and start all over again. And 300 blog posts later, I still fight the same old insecurities I did from day one. I still have obstacles that get in the way of my calling. And as much as I need and love to write, it's still work for me. Nobody ever tells you that about "passion". No one ever says "it's what you're best at, but it just might kill you".
Let go of the pressure and pray through those insecurities. Keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other, and let us encourage one another in the plight against passion and instead seek out the beauty of the patterns that make us who we are. Let's ask God for the continued grace to give us the opportunities to live out our lives in the way He deems best, worthy of the hard work it requires from our weary selves.
Stop looking for your passion. You're already living it.
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