Passion and Purpose Are Not Fleeting

It seems I have a new habit on my hands. Okay, maybe not *new*, but I finished up my book about two months ago, and my fingers are getting itchy. After writing 500 words a day every Monday-Friday for a year–no exceptions minus a quick maternity leave when I pushed a child out of my own body–I can’t seem to shake the routine of sitting down to write.

Fun fact, I’m having somewhat of a weird morning, so I turned on A Million Little Things (great show) while Jo naps rather than doing my usual morning workout. “Weird morning” doesn’t imply anything other than I’m just a little more groggy than usual. Kind of in a bad mood for no reason. Ate too much butter chicken at 9:30 a.m. as a coping mechanism…that kind of weird morning. I’ll be fine.

Anyway, I never watch TV during the day unless it’s watching The Bachelorette on Hulu so that I can write a recap, which I should definitely be doing right now but I don’t want to. I got about five minutes into the episode of A Million Little Things, and had to turn off the TV because all I wanted to do was write (but not recap).

Hi, this is me writing.

I’ll tell you why this excites me: Because I’ve realized that most habits that lead us to where we want to be in life don’t necessarily get easier. Writing every day for a year didn’t always feel easy. It wasn’t like the habit of locking the front door behind you, not even thinking about it. Every single day, I had to actively tell myself it was time to write. Of course, I set myself up for success by having a routine that I could fall into without extra energy (I write in the same place, the same time of day, the same amount of words, etc.), but once the book and editing was complete, I wondered if I’d keep up the habit. Or if it wasn’t all that habitual after all. Maybe it was more fortitude than habit.

Well, no, I’m not writing every single day anymore (at this point in my daily life), but I definitely can’t shake the tug that makes me turn off the TV, open my computer, and start typing. WHAT A RELIEF. At least *something* about the writing process stuck–my mind and body seem to be drawn to that activity without deliberate effort. Turns out you can author a book and wake up when it’s done and STILL be a writer! Excellent.

I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been writing consistently on my blog for about a decade. Still, there’s something about finishing a project as massive as a book and wondering if your juices will officially be dry at the end of it.

And so here lie Shannon’s writing juices, forever locked inside her book. They were such lovely juices. May they rest in peace.

Alas, my juices still seem somewhat juicy! Writing a book was not goodbye.

So folks, this is your reminder that if you love what you do–if you hone your talents with intention and fortitude–the achievement is never the tangible product. The achievement is knowing you’ve found your passion, your purpose in bettering the lives of others. That gift, if identified and harvested, can never dry up. You may need renewed inspiration or bouts of rest, but the passions that make us who we are are not fleeting.

When it comes to your talents and effort you pour into the world, you may go through different seasons of directing them toward a specific outcome, but the joy? The magnetism? The calling? It always remains.