We hear a lot these days about “passion.” Everywhere we look, it seems like someone is telling us to “find our passion,” to “follow our passion,” to “live passionately.” In the abstract, it sounds like wonderful advice, but certainly there are not few among us who are thinking, “Where am I even supposed to look?” or even: “I don’t think I have a great passion!”

But what if it isn’t so hard! What if deep down we already know where to find it – because it’s a part of us?

What if there is a way to go about this that makes sense, one that you can do?

In fact, “finding your passion” means connecting with what is deepest inside. It begins with finding yourself. It’s part of what I like to call The Marigold Theory. The idea is simple: When you drop a marigold seed into the soil, it is genetically coded to grow into a marigold. If you try to somehow coax it into becoming a Poppy, it will disappoint you and itself, and it may even die.

Likewise, we are each born with a unique set of potentials. How sad if the Marigolds among us spend their lives trying to be Poppies! Our task is to get back to that original seed and to create an environment where its potential can be realized, an environment where it can bloom.

Each of us has little sparks of energy that appear here and there throughout the day. Something that happens, an idea, or a thought kindles a reaction in us. We have a burst of energy around it. Pay attention and follow that energy! It comes directly from our core and inspires us into action. And – you guessed it! – action inspired from within is passion.

The opportunities are all around us. Sometimes they’re hiding in plain sight! Your passion is in that special charge that you feel when you’re doing something that you really love. It's there in the way that there are some things that you always have energy for no matter how exhausted you are. It’s that natural high that you just sometimes get.

Those chances to pursue our own energy occur when we least expect them. One spring afternoon, while wandering with a friend through the shops of the historic town of Lebanon, Ohio, I fell in love with a miniature glass conservatory in the window of a beautiful little garden store. Enchanted with the possibilities from the moment I saw it, I knew I had to learn to build my own. It was a tantalizing thought that kept coming back. As so often happens when we aren’t afraid to follow our energy, the opportunity to learn presented itself unexpectedly a few months later.

When our attention is suddenly captured by a new idea or activity or object, there’s usually more to it than we initially realize. By following that energy and allowing it to perc, that unconscious element has an opportunity to unfold. Loose ends gel into a form that we may not understand immediately. For me, designing these miniature conservatories had many meanings. Far from being unfriendly spaces that exposed and made the inhabitants vulnerable as the old expression about “people in glass houses” suggests, each of these tiny greenhouses is a protective space, a life-affirming and nurturing environment supporting the plants within as they reach for the sky. Each fresh sheet of glass is a new opportunity with no limits, and it became evident that the process of creating fresh designs was a metaphor for developing a new and larger vision for my life. Many things have followed from that moment in Lebanon when I allowed myself to be guided by my energy.

Start by creating a trail of clues for yourself. Dedicate a small journal to jotting down those little things during the day that capture your attention. When you find one that you can pursue, don't hesitate! You'll be on the path to a whole new adventure and one step closer to creating a life you'll love to wake up to!

Copyright © Fran Hendrick, 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Resource Box: Fran Hendrick, M.Ed., P.C.C., personal development coach and counselor, specializes in a highly creative and light-hearted approach to helping women of all ages make the profound changes they need in order to lead lives they love to wake up to. Visit www.womenslifedesigncoaching.com for more information.