Growing Up

Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

I read or heard that line somewhere and I believe it's the absolute truth. Come on, how many people do you know that simply act like children...

A few I know do seem to lack the mental capacity to grow up but they're fun to be around. Many more, myself included, just like to have the same kind of fun as we did when we were children. We do know how to be responsible adults, but also have maintained to capabilities of some play.

For myself, working construction was a natural progression from the building blocks, Lincoln Logs and Pick Up Sticks that I played with as a young child. It was fun then and was even more fun as an adult when taking a pile of materials and building something beautiful and useful.

My life started here on the farm. As a boy I had lots of little farm tractors and other farm toys. I would stand in awe as grandpap would work the fields and then as the crops grew into food. I'd mock everything he did when I was in my sand box or just in dirt.

When I left and was in the city I had to garden just to keep my hands in the dirt and have tasty fresh homegrown foods that I remembered. The farm always called me back. Now it's just a big boys sandbox and instead of pushing tractors around I get to ride them around.

A really big part of happiness is finding your passion. Passion is that intense emotional compelling feeling of enthusiasm or desire for something. When you find your passion and then find a way to work with it to earn a living, you are on your way to being happy. When your work is your passion, long hours and strenuous labor don't feel like much. They become part of your life and you find you sleep better.

The day to day set backs become nothing more than a challenge. Not the nightmares and headaches they are to other people. Even the paperwork and record keeping that is required because of taxes is easier to take. Though they still seem ridiculous...

You feel like getting up and out of bed in the morning and have a desire to face each day of work. When the rain falls you feel like dancing. When your hungry you feel like savoring every bite of food you eat. When you take a day to do something just for you, it becomes natural to leave the everyday behind and enjoy every moment as much as you possibly can.

That passion leads you to doing things like jumping and stomping through mud puddles, diving into a pile of leaves, laying in the snow and making snow angels. You just feel so good about living that you enjoy everything just like you did when you were young.

Take the time and pay attention to what makes you feel happy then do it. Quit making excuses and find the time to make it happen. You can start something new while still doing what it is you need to do. Maybe your passion will only be a part time thing and you can still keep that mundane job. Maybe that passion will only be a hobby. But it will even make that mundane job seem much better. You may actually begin to enjoy that job!

I've personally known people who had what seemed to me, the most boring jobs in the world. Yet when they were at work they were the most smiling, happy, joyful people you could find. When you learned more about them you would find that they had something in life they were very passionate about. Some I found were just that passionate about their families and the time they would spend together!

Finding your passion gives you new feeling for life. Passion puts a smile on your face and brightens your attitude. It's also infectious. When you start to feel better about you and you begin to smile more, so will everyone around you. Your attitude will begin to brighten the attitudes of those you come into contact with and even the grumps you live with.

Find your passion and find that love of life you had when you were a child. Then go and spread that smile!