Carving the Shape of Life from Passion!

I watched a little of the Oscar's ceremony during the week, with interest in seeing how well Jessie Buckley would succeed. Jessie's acceptance speech included her thanking her parents for encouraging her to dream and to carve from her passions in life!

I'm really blessed to have been able to follow my passion for catechesis and education for all of my life from an early age. I feel fully alive in both situations and working in a situation where I now combine both, it is truly wonderful!

Every single person has a strength and interest which draws them into what makes them really tick and function to best potential. It may not be the path for which high CAO points are required or it may be a path for which more than one can achieve in CAO points can be attained. Thankfully, there are many points of entry into most occupations and courses now, so that it is now easier for the passion to override obstacles.

It is strong in Irish DNA to opt for the safe and pensionable job. We have long lived with insecurity and poverty in our history with survival at the core for many. However, the way that each one can contribute to their own happiness and to the fruitfulness of the community in which one lives and works, gleans more from those who are passionately engaged in what they do. Choosing a path on which one will be financially safe but miserable or counting the days to retirement is a way to live life wearily and for the Friday feeling only!

Life is too short to miss the opportunity to feed and gain from the great passion of enjoying one's own personal gifts and talents. The particular passion might be unusual but it belongs to the one who owns it and who, if given the freedom and encouragement, will find a way to ensure that savouring one's passion is a part of one's regular, if not daily, experience. Sometimes, it is necessary to put securities above passions, but not for longer than necessary. We must walk our own path, not the path of anyone else. We must live our own lives true to ourselves so that we add to the beauty of the big picture of our lives together. Listen to the signposts of the niggles and the drives in self!

Cathy Burke
Catechist in the Lucan Partnership of Parishes