Passions

This is a facet of what is quickly becoming my life philosophy. Perhaps more accurately what I have begun to work towards and strive to keep in mind as I navigate the post-abuse, single dad landscape. The biggest recurring theme returns to balance... Some kind of atheist tao I guess.

Passion is an interesting emotion. Intoxicating, strong, hungry... It has the power to create and destroy in equal measures. It is often lauded as this pinnacle of creation, something that people should treasure and aspire to follow. When harnessed and tempered, passion is all of those positive things, but if focused upon solely and obsessed over, passion can become this vacuum where you neglect the other aspects of your life in a destructive whirlwind where you can justify nearly any action because it's on the path towards your dreams.

This sounds pessimistic and I don't mean it that way. People should absolutely pursue a lifestyle that is sustainably pleasant and stable. Passions and dreams should be followed, but perhaps at more of a walking pace or steady climbing of stairs as opposed to a dead sprint or obsessed explosion of momentum... Make steps towards the life you would like to be in, but do not destroy the life you have.

Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was I. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things.
- Chuang Chou