Do you know what your passion is? Are you living it? Is it all that you dreamed of? Are you sharing your passion with others? And are you inviting others to find their passion? Passion is the answer to the burning questions, “What am I supposed to be doing?” “Where am I suppose to be?” “What is my purpose?” — Or is it?

“I have felt very discouraged at times…by my doubt and fear that I have no passion, and therefore nothing to offer.”

I am not one to say that I have found my passion, nor did I know it from when I was a child and forgot. I have been on a winding road making stops, staying for a while, then leaving because I didn’t feel passion. All along I have felt as if there was something terribly wrong with me because I did not have a passion. I have read books, watched movies, documentaries, and speakers talking about finding our passion, and that this is what we need to do, because that’s what they did, and look at where they are now.

I felt as if I missed out on the day when passion was being handed out, therefore I have to work harder at finding mine so that I can finally reach the top of the mountain and say, “Here I am! I made it! I found my passion and my purpose! Come on everybody, this is where it’s at!”

I have to say that I have not yet reached the top of the mountain. I have felt very discouraged at times, and even paralyzed, by my doubt and fear that I have no passion, and therefore nothing to offer. So I have remained hidden and silent until somehow the passion-giving guru comes back around and I won’t miss my opportunity to receive it this time.

While waiting to find my passion, I came across the most amazing video with the most amazing speaker and topic I have heard thus far. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love was one of the speakers on Oprah’s Super Soul TV sessions, and her story and message was incredibly breathtaking, as it debunked my belief that I was a failure for not having a passion.

“Today I can let go of the search for a passion, look around, and take in the beauty of the place I have arrived at and be curious.”

Elizabeth shared that for years she had been preaching to people that all they had to do was to find their passion and they would soar. She knew what her passion was from early childhood, and after so much hard work she came to live her passion, and help and encourage others to do the same. Then she received an e-mail from a listener of one of her speeches, which made her question her certainty of passion being what everyone needs to fulfill their purpose.

As she shared what she read in the e-mail, I heard someone sharing what I have always felt, a feeling of inadequacy for failing to have a passion¬ … still after all these years. What a beautiful mural she painted of her awareness with such empathy for those of us without a passion. She shared how wrong she had been in guiding others to following their passions, as that’s what had worked for her. Her awareness was that not everyone is born knowing their passion, nor that everyone has a passion, or just one.

Having spent so much time and energy in search of my passion, I have dismissed the beautiful mural created while traveling this winding, beautiful, intricate journey of mine. Today I can let go of the search for a passion, look around, and take in the beauty of the place I have arrived at and be curious about where my winding, beautiful, intricate journey may take me next.