Finding Passion

Everyone struggles with issues in life.  I've had my share of struggles, bouts of what I guess you'd call depression because I just lost enthusiasm for most things.  It's not easy to get back into the swing of things, but as long as we keep trying, somehow it will all work out.  

And for the last couple of weeks, I've felt a lot better lately.  I just needed to find something that helps me get past the struggles.  Writing here has been a big help.  But I've also located a photography challenge, a word assigned every day as a topic for a photo.  Sometimes they're easier to consider than other times, but that's the part that I like most.  Something I can think about and then something I can do that makes me feel creative again.

On Forbes, I found "A creative act such as crafting can help focus the mind, and has even been compared to meditation due to its calming effects on the brain and body.  Even just gardening or sewing releases dopamine, a natural anti-depressant.  Creativity reduces anxiety, depression, and stress ... And it can also help you process trauma."

Here's a small sample of the recent challenge words:   Waiting.   Keys.  Six pm.   Road Sign.  While these aren't particularly artsy, it's been fun thinking about something I enjoy doing!   So if you've been feeling a little off, try a little bit of creativity!!! 

Family Tree

I have the strangest family history.  For years, I took my relative's word about who and where they come from.  And now with the internet so easy to navigate and look things up, I'm finding out things that don't add up in the family tree!

My great Grandfather, William, said he immigrated to the US from Germany with his sister.  While that may be the case, I've now figured out that his sister married a different William, and her mother, Minnie, lived with them, along with another sister.  The US Census from each different decade lists odd little facts, and sometimes you have to piece things together:  ie, a child is no longer listed means they might have moved out? been sent to other relatives? or perhaps died?  There's another rabbit hole to fall down. haha   That's on my mother's side of the family.

On my father's side, I found my grandfather listed as a nephew to Pete -- so I am assuming that is my great grandmother's brother.  Are you following all this??   *laughs*  Yeah, I couldn't either.  Where was my great grandmother? why was my grandfather living with an uncle at age 9?

These are the sort of puzzles I'm trying to figure out -- and piecing together a family history when it seems like EVERYONE back then had the same last names......  maybe we're all more closely related than we assumed!  *smh*

The men, of course, are easier to follow because they don't change their names.  And when a family gives a child an unusual name, that is certainly a good lead to follow as well; much easier to find an "Albin" than it is "John Smith".   *grin*

Have I come up with very much concrete?  Nope, not yet, but each little trail I pick has interesting tidbits along the way and I was able to add 4 people to my family tree, which is now up to nearly 600 names.  Pretty cool, in it's own way.

Anyone else out there into genealogy?
Are you related to anyone famous?

Passion

It's Saturday night, 11pm, and I can't sleep.  And the word that kept coming to mind as I lay here trying not to think, but unable to avoid it, is passion.  An intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm or desire for something.  We all have different passions.  We have a passion for life, for living; we have a passion for our hobbies, things we enjoy, some have a passion for art, and some for love.  Of course, there's the passion used in the context of romance or sexual desire which generally implies a deeper or more encompassing emotion than that implied by the term lust.

It was a warm day here in the Valley of the Sun.  As the sun started to go down, I sat on my back porch (in the shade, overhead fan spinning lazily) and watched the sky turn from blue to indigo.  The birds were flitting about, calling out to each other in their chirps, and I imagined they were saying goodnight to each other, or giving last minute advice to watch out for the neighborhood cats. (lol)  I could hear the occasional motorcycle in the distance as it traveled down the road in a hurry.  And I felt a sense of peace that things were right with my world for the moment.

But what's that got to do with passion, you ask?  Well, one of my passions is photography.  And if I understand passion correctly, if my passion for photography is in the right place, that's what I should be doing more and more, and lately its been less and less.  Of course, you readers who know me won't be surprised that I checked online for some quotes about passion and found this one:

“Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us... guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd be truly dead.”     ~Joss Whedon

On that note, I'll head to bed and finish this post in the morning. :)

I awoke this morning to find that in daylight hours, this topic changes its meaning. Last night, I was more longing for the kind of passion you see in movies, or on TV.  The kind where music plays, kisses are tender, and desire burns in each others' eyes; the kind where you feel desired, wanted, and needed.  How much more exciting would life be if that kind of passion came into our lives more often? But reality prevails, and while we may have moments in our lives that could live up to that scenario, it's not how real life works.  That doesn't mean you won't have passion in your life; sometimes you just have to look other places for it.

(As you can see, I was up early, and yes, had my camera out!)

It's 6am Sunday morning, and as the sun rises again,

 I can feel how warm the day will be. 

If you have a passion in life, embrace it, 

use your passion for something great today!