by Jackie Cooper
There is a new movie starring Richard Gere titled "Shall We Dance." It concerns a lawyer who is happily married with two kids, but he still doesn't feel complete. He wants to find something outside his marriage and family that he feels passionate about. He finds that in ballroom dancing.
Now, not many of us want to be ballroom dancers, but we do know what it means to need something we feel passionately about. I have found the happiest people are those who did find their passion, and it can be as simple as working crossword puzzles or as complex as restoring old cars.
I have a friend who works the "USA Today" crossword puzzle every day. He says it is a challenge, plus this provides proof his mind is still working. He works the puzzle with a ballpoint pen so there can be no erasures. He also finds the first clue he knows and has to work all the other words in a connecting order from that first word. Pretty complex for a simple puzzle, huh?
Is the crossword puzzle his passion? I think so. It is something he looks forward to each day. It provides him with a good feeling, and it also complements the other happy things in his life. Passions don't have to be huge projects; they can be the simple things in life.
Working with kids is my wife's passion. She is the principal of a school, but manages to get into the classroom a few times each week either to read to the children or to help them with their assignments. She says she has to return to the classroom periodically to refresh and renew herself. She went into education because she loves children and keeps herself in touch with them by frequent trips back to the classroom.
My sons both love what I call gadgets. They are forever getting the latest palm pilots or computer games or even Tivo equipment. They come by this passion naturally as their grandfather, my Dad, loved to tinker with things. He had a million radios and TVs in our house with wires leading from one spot to another. Me, I can barely work my VCR, but my two sons are gadget gurus.
So what is it you like to do? What is the "extra" thing in your life that gives you pleasure?
If your answer to that question is "I don't know" then you need to do some soul-searching and exploration. All of us need to find something that feeds that inner need -- something that refreshes us even when we are worn out.
Passions should be balanced. Family should always come first, for the most part, but finding that extra something that is the dessert of our lives is a necessity. My passions are writing, watching movies, reading good books, and listening to good music. I have a lot of "passions."
I hope you have a passion or you find one soon. Life is too short not to have these added pleasures. At least that is the way I feel about it.
Jackie K. Cooper was born in South Carolina and now lives in Georgia. He is the married father of two sons and the proud grandparent of a boy and a girl.
He is familiar to people living in the middle Georgia area as the "entertainment man" since his entertainment reviews run in newspapers and are shown on television there. His short stories have also been used as commentary on Georgia Public Radio.
Cooper has lived an exceptionally interesting life. Portions of it were contained in his first book JOURNEY OF A GENTLE SOUTHERN MAN, and the journey continued in his second book titled CHANCES AND CHOICES.
JOURNEY OF A GENTLE SOUTHERN MAN and CHANCES AND CHOICES have been reprinted by Mercer University Press and are available at bookstores across the country. Mercer also published Jackie's new book HALFWAY HOME in October 2004.
and be sure to visit his excellent web site: jackiekcooper.com
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