Posted by on Feb 13, 2013 in awareness, celebration, creativity, delight, passion | 4 comments

You’d think that, as heart-centered as I am, I’d love the idea of Valentine’s Day. But actually, it’s never been a favorite for me. Maybe because it’s so Hallmark-y. Maybe because, if you’re not in the throes of a passionate, romantic relationship, you feel somehow less than, like you’re missing out.

Maybe it goes back to when I was in fifth grade and someone left a dead goldfish in my desk next to all of the other Valentine’s cards.

On the surface, Valentine’s Day is all about hearts and flowers, chocolates and stuffed animals. But if we look deeper, the real heart of Valentine’s Day is about love.

And so this year, I’m proclaiming this as a day to honor the love in our hearts, not just the loves in our lives.

When we look inward, into our own hearts, love becomes an opportunity for self-awareness, self-care, self-inquiry.

When we look into our hearts, we are inviting personal reflection. We begin to ask deeper questions, like, what is really important to us? What are we passionate about? What sparks our heart?

Oprah Winfrey says this about passion:

“Passion. I love to say the word out loud just to hear the sound of it.

It resonates with me, causing me to think of all the experiences that fuel me, give me my juice: my work, speaking in front of 50 people or 5,000 and seeing someone have an aha moment, my great friendships, my dogs, the trees in my front yard, my wondrous, amazing unfolding life.”

When I first read Oprah’s quote I cried. Because I had no idea what I was passionate about. I was so out of touch with my heart that I didn’t even know what passion meant, or even felt like.

And so I started asking myself deeper questions.
1. What does the word passion mean to me?

2. How does passion feel?

3. Do I know people who I consider to be passionate?

4. What about them makes me think this?

5. What qualities define passion?

6. If I think about passion in terms of what fuels me and what gives me my juice, what else is passion for me?

Often, when we ask ourselves big questions, we answer with our heads. So it’s no wonder that we get the same answers, Or, “I don’t know.”

But if we get quiet, and go deeper, we can hear the truer answers from in heart.

I invite you to take some time and get quiet and really ask yourself these questions about your own heart’s passion. Write down your answers, and pay attention to any new questions that arise.

And if at first, you only hear silence, listen deeply to that. Trust that your heart is there, waiting to sing.

 

I’d love to hear your answers. Please share them below by clicking on the comments.

 

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