You and Everything You Love

When I meet people, it usually goes something like this:

"Hi!"
"Hello."
"My name is Weo."
"Hi, Weo. I'm Paul."
"Nice to meet you, Paul. So tell me, what do you do?"
"Oh, I work at the blah blah blah blah blah."
"Oh, yeah? Hm."

I've been thinking lately, wouldn't it be cooler like this:

"Hi!"
"Hello"
"My name is Weo."
"Hi, Weo. I'm Paul."
"Nice to meet you, Paul. So tell me, what are your passions?"
"I LOVE Fish, and Drawing and Making things out of WOOD!"
"REALLY!? COOL! Tell me more!"

OR, even better-
"HI I'M WEO! I LOVE TURTLES!"
"HI! I'M PAUL I LOVE FISH!"

Maybe you think that would be going too far. I do understand. At first, we would be getting some strange looks. But we should not be afraid of looking like five year olds. Know why? Five year olds are HAPPY! They are out there doing just what they want to do pretty much all the time. They're not thinking about short cuts, tax cuts, or making ends meet. They aren't compromising their personalities or dreams in order to afford down-payments for shit, let's be honest, they don't need in the first place!

I used to wake up every single morning, Monday through Sunday, with enough eager anticipation for the day that lay before me to rival the Sponge in the pineapple! I would leap from my bed, sing in the shower, and start jokes over orange juice all because I was alive- and that meant good things were going to happen!

But then, I was one of those weirdos who liked school. I enjoyed learning. I liked teachers, card catalogues, lunch trays and seasonally decorated bulletin boards. And I loved my free time after school. I lived on a farm. I was surrounded by animals to pet and feed, and by untouched woods to explore until dusk. At night I fell asleep to my brother playing piano downstairs as I read under my covers until my eyelids surrendered.

My point? I was PASSIONATE about all those things I mentioned. I loved learning. I loved animals. I loved exploring. I loved reading. I loved music. Everything that was wonderful to me was always around me, always a part of my daily routine.

Somehow, my routine seemed to whittle out all those great things as I grew up.

Since leaving that little farm home where I was a child, I've moved from one little city apartment to the next in search of that happy passion for life. I've settled for unrewarding service jobs because they've allowed me enough money and free time to try 'finding' my passion again. I've completely given up listening to or playing music I love when I was dating someone who wasn't into it also. ~ Oh this bothers you? Ok, I won't play it while you're around. Oh, you're never leaving. Hmmm. ~

Finally, with a little time to think- I've realized my folly.
Maybe passion never really dies... it just sits around waiting for you to remember it's there.

So, what were/are YOU into?