Permitting Passion

It’s a matter of pinpointing what pries your heart open. It’s a matter of permitting yourself to access that art, that sense of wonder and curiosity that drives you to constantly immerse yourself into that area. You wake up craving that contact, you let the thought of it guide you to seek the intimacies of the human experience. Passion is the fuel for life.

It took a hiatus though. That ambition felt stuck, it felt scared to push forward. I finally got to the root of it though, I finally reunited life with passion. Passion lives through life, it lives through witnessing people interact, it lives through being human. Passion gives life meaning, but passion derives momentum from life. I feel connected to art in a way I never was before, because I feel connected to people in a way I have never accepted before.

So thank you... to everyone. Thank you for being vulnerable enough to thrive in the discomfort that is the human experience. It really can make you sink; it can bury you alive. But it can also make you soar. I feel invigorated, and it’s all because of the people around me. It’s because of the people I pass on the streets- whether we share a smile or avoid eye contact. It’s because of my friends- the most generous souls I have ever come across.

I feel loneliness intensely, but I think it’s because I’ve experienced friendship fervidly. I’ve been stripped to the core in front of my friends as they have for me. We get to share our essences; I get to thrive in the way they smile when they talk about things that excite them, in addition to connecting through the disconnect that comes with the not-so-fun parts of life. We get to cry together and laugh together (and sometimes bleed together with our combined clumsiness). We survive together. And when a wave of loneliness hits, it pummels… because I only know real human connection. And the moments when I catch myself feeling misplaced… no bueno. What draws me to my artistic endeavors- acting, photography, writing, music, etc.- is that sense of connection. Through those outlets, I get to discover a part of myself, bring it to the surface, and unify it with an undiscussed characteristic I pull out of humanity as a whole.

I’ve redefined art to not only serve as an expression, but to be a reflection of my gratitude for all that is around me. Every person and every circumstance presents an opportunity to uncover even more love. In turn, I find a deeper love for art, a deeper service that art has the power to provide.