“Excuse me; can you let me out of here?”
I remember a time when I was younger that my sister had a friend come over to our house. Being the younger sister, I always wanted to tag along with Jackie and her friends. (I can’t tell you the number of times in my childhood I heard, “Dinah, stop following me!”) In this particular instance, the friend had a small electronic box with a button on it. When she pushed the button, the little toy would begin to shake and say, “Excuse me; can you let me out of here?”
Now, years later, I think about that box and imagine something similar being inside people. Passion lives in our hearts, but so many people lock it up in a box so that they can conform to the world around them. “The world doesn’t accept weirdos who have a strange hobby or enjoy a unique genre of film or literature.” “The people I admire wouldn’t understand the silliness that comes out when I let me be myself.” Soon, we take all those little parts of ourselves that make us who we are, and we hide them deep inside and lock them up. As long as we can keep a close guard on what people see, then maybe we’ll be taken seriously. Maybe we’ll blend in.
What we don’t realize, though, is that we’re not just locking up those small pieces of ourselves. Those pieces contain the fuel that burns through all the other junk in our lives and shines out through us. That fuel is called passion, and without it, life loses its luster. Food loses its taste. Love loses its thrill.
Listen carefully to your heart. If you hear a faint voice shouting, “Excuse me; can you let me out of here?” then by all means, let it out. Let the passion see the light of day again. If you don’t know how to do that, start by doing what thrilled you as a child. For me, it was doing silly dances in the mirror and laughing at myself. Not that I do this anymore…(chuckles) I am a sophisticated lady, ya know.
Whatever it is that pulls the passion out of you, just start doing it. Just start living again. People may look at you funny, but you will be a shining star. And that is something no one can take away from you.
This is so true. I tell myself these very things. You may get a heck of a lot of weird stares and behind-the-back whispers, but you will live with very few regrets and sadness will be easy to extinguish when your authenticity opens up rare doors of opportunity that those same people would envy. Love this post!
“The world doesn’t accept weirdos who have a strange hobby or enjoy a unique genre of film or literature.” This is true…and a very good point. The blacksheep of this sick sad world. Think for yourself and question everything! I like this first post ! Keep up the good work.
The “D”