You may think you don’t know what your passion is, but the truth is, you do.  It’s the thing that gets your righteous anger stirred up when you see something mishandled or someone treated unfairly.  It’s what brings tears of joy when you see it done well and the results that help others.  It’s usually where you invest your time, talent or money which may or may not be tied to your career or job choice.

Where I think we get confused is when we or others try to link our passion to a particular party or group, philosophy or belief system, leading to generalizations about us that may or may not be true.  Life is complicated.  I may have many reasons why something is a passion for me. It usually has to do with a strong relationship with someone or something.  I have never in my life said, I’m a Republican or a Democrat so I must be passionate about this, that and the other.  In that case, we would literally be putting the cart before the horse.  These are MY personal convictions, based on MY personal experiences.

We look to groups who seem to share our passions and while we might contribute monetarily or join in on the occasional rally or email blast, are we really serving our purpose here on earth?  If we weren’t afraid to do or say something that we knew could make a difference, what would we do?  Are we afraid of people accusing us of believing a certain way or being with a certain party, or (gasp!) not liking us on social media?  In today’s culture with its lack of civility and having lost the art of debate, nobody says what they really believe – most of us just try to fit in and not make waves.  So many of us, especially those of us who are introverts who run at the very idea of conflict, keep thoughts to themselves, perhaps squelching that passion and those ideas that could make a real difference because it’s what we were made for.

Education has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember.  I loved school and as a kid, the idea of teaching was fun.  Things obviously change as you grow older and the passion begins to focus.  First it was just education, then music education, then general music education, obviously from the dreaming to doing stages.  My passion for a cause began when I began learning about educating the whole child and how music plays such a part in that education.  And the passion continues to focus as I learn more and more and I find myself wanting to share that passion, either through my writing or speaking.  Never once did I check to see if my passion fit a party, a particular social group, or belief system.  This is the thing that floats my boat, that gets me excited, the thing that can get me talking a mile a minute whether you want to hear me or not.

As I grow older, the urgency do something to improve the educational system for the children in this country increases.  Our system of public education has never been perfect in this country, but it has so much potential if people would just stop arguing with each other, stop thinking politically, stop thinking only in terms of money, and begin thinking about the children.  There are some great things happening in education and the word needs to get out.  Places where children are learning and thriving with educators who are thinking differently from what some accepted research tells us we should be doing.  Places where children are allowed to experiment and create, to play and build relationships.  Places where children are being held accountable for their behavior/actions and are learning to be kind people.  I’m just crazy enough to believe this should be reality for all children.

I’m under no delusion that my little words are going to change the world, but if they  could affect one small corner of it, I would maybe fulfill my purpose.  Imagine if all of us were not afraid to do whatever it takes to fulfill the purpose you were put on earth for.  To not feel like you have to align yourself to any particular party or faith or group to accomplish something for others.  I’m not saying there’s not power in numbers, but sometimes it just takes that one small passionate voice to make a difference and serve your purpose.