Today, I learned that my nephew got accepted into a professional ultimate frisbee team based out of New York. It’s what he wanted to do. He’s always been passionate about playing ultimate frisbee, and now his dream has come true. As he is on a legitimate team.
I don’t keep in touch with my nephew all that much. I just learned about it from his Facebook status today. It makes me think about ultimate frisbee. It’s not exactly the most popular sport in the world. Games are not going to attract thousands of fans (let alone hundreds of fans).
Yet, it is a sport that he is willing to undertake. Because, I suppose, he is passionate about it. He does it because he loves to do it. And because of that, he is blazing his own trail - despite the external circumstances. That status update brings a valuable lesson to my forefront.
It makes me realize that sometimes you just need to do things for the sake of doing things. Because you’re passionate about it. Because you enjoy it. It doesn’t matter what other people say or do. What matters is that you enjoy whatever it is that you do. You enjoy the process. You enjoy your hobbies. Just do things that you enjoy. That you’re passionate about. And good things will happen.
For example, I like to write in this blog, and try to do so consistently on a weekly basis. It doesn’t matter if my entries get one view or no views. I’ve been posting consistently for the last three years. And it’s simply because I want to. Ideally, of course, I would love if my blog got hundreds or thousands of views each day.
Nevertheless, it just doesn’t seem to be. And I am toiling away in obscurity as we speak. Yet, I continue to post entries into my blog simply because I enjoy doing it. I enjoy writing. I enjoy talking about philosophy and life. I simply enjoy it as a hobby - regardless of how many views I get.
And I hope that I will continue to post for the foreseeable future. It’s just a lesson in passion. In doing things that you want to do. For the sake of the craft. For the sake of improvement. For the sake of enjoyment.
So, what is it that you want to do? That you’re passionate about? What is it that you’re okay with doing in relative obscurity - regardless of the money or the fame or the praises from the external world? Try to find what it is that you enjoy doing. And simply do it. Do it consistently.
We all have that something that gives us purpose. That we can do regardless of what the outside world says. I’m thankful that I have multiple “passion” projects that I enjoy doing. That I enjoy working on. And I try to stay active in those hobbies for as long as I can. It’s a lesson that I learned and thought about today - simply by reading about my nephew’s status update on getting into his desired ultimate frisbee team.
You can learn something new every day. Every moment is a life lesson waiting to happen. The grand things. The mundane things. Every moment is an opportunity to look for beauty and to learn about life in general. It really is an endless reservoir of lessons in this world.
Valuable lessons can be had anywhere. Drinking a cup of coffee even can bring forth some valuable lessons about life. It can teach us about where coffee comes from. The farmer that grows and harvests it. The truck driver that transports it to our local groceries and supermarkets. The health benefits of drinking coffee. The commercial value of coffee. Drinking coffee can teach us so much about the world in general.
It’s the little things that happen every day that we should simply treasure and experience and learn from. The big things are kind of obvious. But it’s the little things that can lend us so much pleasure and reflection and joy.
For me, Toastmasters has been a boon for me over this past decade and a half. I am so glad that I found this organization and it has enriched me for the better. I have also made many good friends from this organization. It has taught me the value of failing and getting back up. The concept of resilience. Of dedication. Of consistency. Of joy in helping others and giving back. It has taught me much about what it takes to be a successful leader and human being. It has taught me innumerable lessons about courage and determination.
And find inspiration in some of the ordinary members of my club. How some of them are dedicated to the craft of becoming public speakers. How the environment is supportive and members give critical and constructive feedback to help other members improve. It’s an endless stream of lessons that I’ve learned from being part of the Toastmasters community.
Not everybody will be passionate about Toastmasters. And that’s okay. It’s important that we find that one thing (or multiple things) that we are interested and passionate about. Because that passion can teach us so many valuable life lessons that can bring forth joy and community and purpose. It really is a boon to society.