Daily Wisdom Notes

The Passion That Remains When Circumstances Change Many years ago, a young woman asked me a question that stayed with me. She had heard me say that writing educational and reflective articles was my greatest passion in this life. “Are you certain?” she asked. “How do you know this is your true passion? How did you discover it?” I answered her final question first because I believed it would answer all the others. When I am happy, I think about writing. When I am unhappy, I still think about writing. When I have money, I want to write, and when money is scarce, I want to write. When I have work, writing remains in my mind. When I have lost work, it remains there too. After a satisfying meal, I want to sit down and write. Even when life feels less comfortable, the desire does not disappear. Praise makes me want to write, but criticism can also send me back to the page. I want to write when I feel hopeful, and I still want to write when hope is difficult to find. In almost every condition...

The Gift That Keeps Calling You Back Have you ever tried to leave something behind, only to find yourself returning to it? Life may have become crowded with responsibilities. Work demanded more attention. New paths opened, and an old interest seemed to belong to an earlier part of your life. Yet after months or even years, you felt its quiet pull again. You reached for the instrument. You returned to the garden. You began teaching, building, painting, repairing, studying, or serving once more. In my own life, I returned to writing. Not everything that repeatedly calls us back is a lifelong passion. But the return may be a clue. It may point toward an activity, ability, or form of contribution that remains meaningful beneath changing circumstances. Writing Continued to Wait for Me My circumstances have changed many times, but the desire to write has remained. I have long felt drawn to ideas about reflection, lifelong learning, and inner growth. There were seasons when writing seemed imp...