Don't Ever Give up on the Passion in your Life!

I recently purchased a book from one of my favorite authors, Greg Levoy, whose first book was my "Bible" for some time, published in 1998, "Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life". It touched me deeply, motivated me in ways that I could hardly imagine, to make several core changes in my life, the chief one being to move ahead with my life in reclaiming the passion in work that had somehow eluded me more times that not. Thus, it was a great pleasure for me to get my hands on Levoy's new  493 page book, "Vital Signs: Discovering and Sustaining Passion for Life".

I didn't have to go much further than the introduction to hit a passage that floored me completely:

" A 2012 Gallup poll of employees in 142 countries found that, on average, 87 percent of are either "not engaged" or "actively disengaged"…and only 13 percent were "engaged". In the United States alone, this adds up to roughly $550 billion a years in lost productivity!!".

The term "not engaged" means you are not really connected to what exactly your living, doing and breathing in your life.
"Actively disengaged" means you are busy acting out your unhappiness, creating a lot of "dispassion" which is always very contagious.
When you are "actively disengaging" you are spreading dis-connection form things, from people, from relationships, and most alarmingly, yourself!

As human beings who are fortunate enough to be able to have the eyes, ears, mind, knowledge to use a computer or phone and the budget to use them, I want to suggest one thing: Don't ever let dis-passion and dis-engagement lead your life! You have so much going for you, the world is full of so many wonderful things, every moment there is an opportunity to make a change, small or large, and what holds you back is probably what holds most of us back- FEAR! We owe it to ourselves to find ways, methods, pursuits and relationships that will engage us even where life seems to be flowing towards "dis-engagement".

Levoy promises in the introduction to his book some of the many lessons that he learned and gathered about living passionately, and they all hit a strong chord in me, I hope they will with you as well:

Passion can be cultivated- it can be turned on as turned off.

Passion is in risk- it is about getting off the sidelines and into the playing field, taking a step out of the comfort zone of your life.

Passion breeds passion, and disinterest breeds disinterest. Watch out for the snowball effect!

Passion isn't necessarily about happiness, nor is it always a peak experience. Go out and experiment what it is for you.

Passion is intimately connected to health- health which we can seek to better both physically and psychologically.

Passion s more about endurance than exuberance. You have to work hard at it after all…

So to all the folks out there who can't stand their jobs, their bosses, their relationships, their lack of activity, health habits, way of eating, way of leisure, the place where they live and activities in which they participate….PLEASE go out and kick over your comfort zone barriers, get disengaged from the toxic stuff round and ENGAGE in what gives you life, energy, smiles and a sense of appreciation and gratefulness about life itself.
Trust me, we won't leave this world alive, why not COME ALIVE now? The world needs people that come alive.
Don't Ever Give up on the Passion in your Life!

Grow your Wisdom in Respecting the "Other"

Christmas Eve 2015, here in Israel, in the Arab town of Tira, in the Triangle area just about 20 minutes from my house.
Our Jewish-Arab Friendship and Cultural Exchange group, with nearly 30 participants proves time and again that in the midst of all the background violence, racism, fear and hate there is always room for another way to approach things.
We have been together for nearly two years now, not only discussing topics around "the situation" here in Israel, but open, sincere and empowering dialogue about each other, our careers, families, our concerns in our daily lives, among others. 

I, along with my co-organizer and friend Dr. Yosef Bishara, an impressive human being and educator who not only talks about his belief in coexistence between Jews and Arabs in Israel but also "walks his talk".
I facilitate the group's activities and always find that there is a deepening of a type of wisdom that comes when one really listens to "the other", far away from the incessant media reporting of violence and terror.
Terrorists look to instill fear by their treacherous acts and with terror there is really no other way to deal other than a "firm stick", but that should never stop the "humane route" to reach out to connect to "the other" on a human basis.
It seems very straightforward but it's not! It has always amazed me just how many people never get out of this box, this paradigm that sees life as white or black, turning their backs, minds and hearts on the opportunity to grow and forge ties with those who are unlike them. Where we live this is a very dangerous path to trod!

The year 2016 is already with us, I extend to all my friends in this group and outside of it a blessing and wish that we may we continue to "grow ourselves" and our wisdom in learning from, respecting, appreciating and growing our friendship for many days to come!