The Art of Living Dangerously

I know people, frustratingly intimidating people, whose entire lives are defined by their passion. An all-consuming drive that pulls them in whichever direction it chooses in order to achieve what it wants and desires most. I don’t know how to live my life this way. I can barely fathom the idea of genuinely finding joy in the sound of my alarm clock as it means I “get” to go to work. And yet, there are people, everywhere, who have found what they were meant to do and will stop at nothing to achieve it.

Not to say these people live the easy life. On the contrary, pursuing a dream often calls for the most extreme and heartbreaking of sacrifices. However, their life has meaning. They are not mediocre. They are not ordinary. They are set apart. Different. They will not look back wondering, “what if?” Can everyone live their lives this way? Sure. According to books like The Alchemist and The Secret, absolutely. But the hard truth is, there are very few of us who will devote our lives to anything more than the average, everyday, run of the mill normalcy of American life. Depressing, I know. But there is hope.

I have come to realize that we can each be different. We can each have that one thing, that niche, that passion that no one else has. We can be set apart while also maintaining a reasonably normal lifestyle at the same time. Julie Powell in her novel Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, Julie has devoted a year of her life to producing every dish in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. A few evenings a week for one year she devotes herself to a task, no, a passion that no one had yet endeavored. She found that her struggles with mediocrity had vanished. Her passion was one small part of her life. It did not consume all, but instead made the rest of her life: marriage, clerical career, small home, and two cats, seem more important.

I encourage everyone who doubts their own value to find something, anything that you love and create a real passion from it. Do you love to draw but never found the opportunity or commitment or self-confidence to turn it into a career? Do it anyway. So you don’t have a swanky art studio on the Upper East Side. So you didn’t struggle as a penniless yet tragically gifted and romantic painter for a few years before becoming “discovered.” Neither has anyone else, really. Draw. Paint. Cook. Dance. Sing. Play. You may never receive a cent. You may never even receive recognition. Who cares? A few late nights a week doing what you’re passionate about as opposed to watching some stupid, mind-numbing reality show (unless of course it’s American Idol) isn’t gonna kill you. It will, in fact, enrich your life. I promise. I’m doing it right now. Staying up late, typing this just for you. And I am fully aware that there may not actually be a “you.” No one may ever read this. But that’s my point. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we all come to realize that life isn’t about fame and fortune. It’s about finding a purpose and following it.

Know you don’t have to turn your entire life upside down in order to fully enjoy it. Mediocrity is a word we use to self-deprecate. It’s not real. You have a passion, follow it. Start with one night a week for an hour. Give yourself a small goal and when you achieve it (you will), set another. And repeat. Eventually, all the things that make you “average” won’t seem so run of the mill anymore. Have faith in yourself.

By the way, if your passion is giving foot-massages, call me. We should get together…one night a week for an hour. I didn’t mean that to sound quite as scandalous as it did but I’m not taking it back.

-Age