Ever witness something or dream about it, and feel a fire ignite inside you? And that fire seemed to awaken a passion- a sleeping dragon sort of speak? I've had my share of short lived interests like: trying to learn a new language, crafting, scrapbooking, etc. But some things just never went away. Let's face it, hobbies and interests are expensive and time/energy consuming. We live in a world where we have other obligations that need to be prioritized. It's a fact of life we need to accept as we achieve the "American Dream" -Right?!
When we live the day to day, and the days start blending together-What are we doing? We learn to "put up" with things that hinder our growth. We ignore our dying flame. The flame that makes us original... as we are transforming to copies of upheld expectations the world's pressure molds us into. Then we begin to see things like addiction, infidelity, and depression start to rise and we question where it came from? Sure there may be some components of genetic predisposition, but there are preventative measures we can take to fulfill our purpose. Not only that, it will give us more happiness and determination to fulfill that purpose when we feed the fire inside us (in healthy ways of course!).
My most recent passion that's been awakened was for the aerial arts. More specifically, aerial silks.
I jokingly mentioned it to my friend who I had been working out with, expecting her to just say, "oh cool" like most people and change the subject, or laugh and brush it off but she didn't. She was intrigued and asked me how I was going to do it. I just started spitting out all these cool workouts I wanted to try, building flexibility and balance, how I was stretching at home, and conditioning routines that needed to be done. I had done some research! She got us each a passion planner where we could map out our passions and make them happen as we kept up with all the other areas of our lives... family, friends, work, etc. It turns out she was passionate about it too and we began training together for aerial silks! We even signed up for classes together.
The time has come where I couldn't hold back anymore and just bought a set of silks. I chose the color purple as a dedication to my mom who I lost two years ago this month. It was her favorite color as well as my own. So this is for her too! This is my way of not being boring if or when she checks in on me. I've always had it in me to seek things with great heights (i.e., mountains, skydiving, waterfalls, trees, stunting in cheerleading, just about anything you can think of...) I'm surprised my parents didn't freak out. They never did, even when I would fall. It was everyone else who would! They would still let me play outside and get dirty, take me to practice, watch my practices and games, competitions, rehearsals, and performances... they were even there when I went skydiving. I was blessed with amazing parents! I have an amazing support team all the way around and have never felt this amount of encouragement before! It's incredible and I want to pass it on to others as well!
I don't know how far I'm going to go with the aerial arts. Right now I want to just have fun with it and look up techniques and tricks I can try. I want to challenge myself. You can bet that the things that look the most complicated are the things I want to try. But I have to be strategic and work my way up. I am tempted to just take short cuts, but I don't think that would benefit me. I want to do this the right way. This is just another passionate outlet to help me learn, grow, and fulfill my purpose in this lifetime. I believe that all these unique things that captivate me are all interconnected and lead me towards where I need to go and do what I need to do for some reason. So this year, I am going to make sure to do that! Passion project 2018, aerial arts and beyond (cause who knows what else can set my heart and soul on fire)!
My friend and I started a shared Instagram page
@journeybeyondaerialsilks
as a way to inspire others to put their passions to action now too. We can support, inspire and encourage each other. We are still able to focus on family, friends, work, and our other interests (writing, photography, hiking, dancing, music, spoiling our fur babies, extreme sports, meditating, reading, traveling, significant others, going to concerts, ...) After all, we need recovery days when we are just too sore to do a full on full body workout again. I can't wait until we start to see results!
If you see hints of purple in the skies, I hope it awakens your sleeping dragon. Set that passion into action and excel. Don't stop now. Don't get too comfortable here... change is always inevitable and most times unpredictable. Put things in your planner to look forward to. Find yourself and the right people will leave you and the right people will gravitate towards you. You will feel the difference in the best way once you get past the adjustment. Let these beautifully painted skies lead you to your next destination. All you have to do is look up and keep that fire burning. Stay original. It may take one second (or a double tap) for someone to "like" something and not think twice about it later, but even if it's only seen and not "liked"...if it stands out and is thought provoking or different, it may linger a little longer and hopefully spark some inspiration to think outside the box too... and that's how a tiny spark can start a fire.
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Purple Skies
There's a heart I've known
before I even came to life
it's kept me alive
it's the wish I made
with every candle blown
it's in the earth
in every breath we think is ours
painted across the purple skies
past the moon, beyond the stars
and reflected from both windows of our eyes
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Love Always,
Lainey
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