A Case for The Pursuit of Passion
What is Passion? It is true what they say, “If you love your job, you will never work a day in your life.” A good indicator for whether or not you do? Would you do it without pay? If the answer is yes then you most likely have passion for it, along with love.
Today, Passion is the stimulus to almost every decision I make, and the reason I do what I do. Passion is the driving force behind every late night spent writing, or tasting, or studying. Passion is what brings me to this very post today. I am not being paid to write an essay about passion.
Ironically, Ive spent about 25 years living life without knowing what this word meant. I went to school so that I could get a job. I went to a job so that I could earn money. I participated in relationships to establish a foundation for which I could continue down a proverbial hamster wheel.
And then along came wine. I wasn’t thrust out of my day job ( or night job in some cases) left penniless in pursuit of a distant dream. I went from job to job, relationship to relationship feeling like something was missing. I took a wine course for fun, still, there was no aha! moment, but I remained curious. It wasn’t until I tasted a wine that changed me. It was as if the light was switched on in a dimly lit attic of a monarch and all of a sudden the splendors of long forgotten times were illuminated before my eyes. The smells, the flavors and the beauty entranced me. This passion has opened up a world for me, that I never felt justified in accessing due to it seeming out of reach for a person of my humble background. I believe that when one discovers their true passion, no obstacle is unsurmountable. In fact, barriers that once dissuaded me from pursuing a goal seem to me irrelevant now. I am not the first person to enter a space, whether it be a michelin star restaurant or a wine cellar in Sonoma and notice that I am the only black woman in the room, and with an opinion at that! Its when we all realize we share something in common. A defining factor none of us can deny. We know our wine. We can discuss the topics, regions, climates, and terriers for hours with the underlying understanding that we respect each other.
What has all of this taught me? Find what you love, and go after it. If you are truly passionate, then nothing can stop you, but it helps if you are naturally already GOOD at it!
