The Power of Passion

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

-- Harold Whitman

Having just completed another JWAAD Teacher Training course that I had organised in Stroud with Beatrice Curtis and Jan Piggott, I came home, put my feet up and reflected upon the weekend.  The women on the course were great - friendly, supportive, eager to learn, and passionate about the dance and teaching.  They had all expended money, time and energy on the course because they wanted to improve their teaching skills to better inspire that passion and enthusiasm in others. What better motivation to teach than that?

I have never found anything as rewarding as teaching belly dance. Women often come to their first class feeling inadequate, unconfident and unhappy with their appearance. They may be women who haven't exercised in years and are looking for a new hobby, they may be women who've just had a baby and want to get themselves back in shape, they may be women, who, with a million and one pressures in their daily lives, just want to take time out to do something for themselves.

  

Whatever their reason for coming, they usually don't bargain for the immense personal transformation that follows.  Women rediscover who they are, reawaken that sensual goddess that lurks within all of us - and blossom in the most extraordinary ways.  And for a teacher, it's really exhilarating to witness.

I have been learning and teaching this dance now for many years.  Yet, I realise that on some level, I always resisted giving myself to it completely. And I know I'm not alone in this; I've met so many other women who feel the same.

For years, I listened to family and friends who warned me that 'I'd never make a living out of teaching dance'. I took to heart warnings that to give up a well-paid, highly responsible and prestigious job in publishing to be a dance teacher was foolhardy, if not downright irresponsible. That I should stop being selfish and get real.  And maybe, one some level, it served me not to take the plunge and go for it.  After all, if you don't try, you can't fail, can you?

That's true, of course.  But then again, you can't quite shake off that feeling that you're missing out, that you're not fulfilling your life's purpose, that you're living an inauthentic life. And who wants to shuffle off this mortal coil with a sackful of regrets?

Working at Hay House Publishers has been a godsend, because it's given me the opportunity to work with some truly inspirational authors, such as Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson, Esther and Jerry Hicks and Wayne Dyer.  And exposure to their books has profoundly changed my way of thinking

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Recently I was looking at a book proposal and noticed a quotation that really resonated with me:

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-- Harold Whitman

How true.  Passion does make you come alive. And when that passion is backed up by a single-mindedness and commitment to live by it and not get side-tracked by doubts and other people's issues, well, then it can create ripples far beyond anyone's expectations.

I googled 'Passion' and found more inspirational quotes (and a lot more besides, but that's another matter altogether!):

Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.
-- Author Unknown

Follow your passion, and success will follow you.
-- Arthur Buddhold

Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.
-- Martha Graham

If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.
-- T. Alan Armstrong

The words are different but the message is always the same: true success and fulfillment comes from following your passion.  And as Marianne Williamson so eloquently expressed it in A Return to Love, 'as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  And as we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.'

I've realised - rather later than I would have liked, but better late than never! - that not only is it far from selfish to follow your passion, but that, in fact, if you want to lead a truly authentic life, you owe it to yourself and to others to do so. In the words of the great Wayne Dyer, when you do so, 'your vibrational energy is more attuned to that of the creative energy of the Universe.  Strange, even miraculous things can happen at this level of energy.'  I can't wait!

Comments

[Annette McCann]

Hi Yvette!

Enjoying reading your blog - especially this post. How inspiring.

Thank you!

All the best xx