I attended church services with my aunt recently, something I’ve not done in a while. It was a special singing service and I brought my older grandchildren and we all planned to sing. I’ve been singing in church since I was their age and remember singing with my own grandmother.
I had a preacher once who told me “be careful of passion”. He meant be careful of joining the church during a moment of passion. Often we become passionate, especially through music but too often it is fleeting. But no offense to that dear pastor but the opposite can be true as well. Be careful of no passion for I fear that if we simply go through the motions of religion, putting on our religion like a shirt we wear, then we’ve missed something along the way. Passion, in religion as in marriage is necessary but it cannot be the only thing.
For me passion in life, in my writing, in my faith, in my marriage often ebbs and flows. Sometimes I am so filled with it I’m overflowing and I share that with everyone around me, and then there are times when the batteries are running low and it is only the remembered passion that keeps me going. While I do not believe that passion alone can sustain you, without it, why would you wish to continue.
I truly believe that passion is a necessary ingredient in life that we often overlook or belittle. Renew your passion. Renew your faith. Read. Read your Bible or Koran, and strengthen your passion. Sing. Listen to music. Feed your soul. Write. Write poetry. Write bad poetry. It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t have to be for anyone but you. Dance. Close your eyes and let the music flow over you. Take a walk. Smell the fresh air after a summer rain. Kiss your spouse like you mean it. Hold hands. Look into each other’s eyes and remember. Never lose your passion for life.