Passion Is But One Guide

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

“Follow your passion” is advice we often hear concerning careers, and tune out just as often as well. It’s tuned out because such advice is often trite and doesn’t acknowledge the complexities of life. However, there’s a puzzle piece of good advice in there.

The desire to follow our passions appeals to us, to live to what’s close to our heart. Passion isn’t enough, but it’s a reminder there are things that are part of us, visceral parts that can guide us on careers and in life.

Maybe, when we tell people to “follow their passion” in jobs and life, we can note that’s the first thing. There are other pieces to the puzzle of “what to do with life.”

Passion, of course, can drive us and tells us what’s fulfilling. We may not be good, we may face challenges, but passion keeps us going.

Our natural aptitudes and cultivated abilities are also a guide to careers. These are things we’re just good at for whatever reason, and we can use them, grow them, or channel them.

Interests are another element of ourselves to cultivate. There are things we just like, even without burning passion or talent involving them. They may guide us, or just flavor our life and career choices.

Finally, let us consider fit. Perhaps you want to work in government or live in a small town. There are just people we belong with and places we belong at.

When we discuss following passions, it’s really an opportunity for a deeper, more complex conversation. However, it’s a conversation worth having, not just for insights but to overcome the old “follow your passions” trope. Getting past that overused advice, we can find the other pieces of ourselves, or help others find their own.

Steven Savage

Remembering the World is Alive Matters

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

It’s easy to get depressed at the state of the world for many reasons. There’s a cloud that passes over us that makes everything look mechanical, inevitably clicking towards doomsday. When the world is a machine, we see no hope to survive the crises we face.

But then, when we get creative, making art or writing, the world becomes different. We see there are many possible futures. We see solutions to problems. The world has options, it’s organic, it’s alive – and the future can be shaped.

Something about creativity wakes us up, so we see the world more as the complex, many-faceted thing it is. It’s not just that we can imagine solutions; we’re operating differently. You can’t create mechanically, and creativity can also snap you out of mechanical thinking.

Of course, we might look at this rush and then ask “wait, can my creative abilities change the world?”  It doesn’t matter – the state does.

This is important to remember – keeping this “organic” state of mind comes from our preferred creative acts. It could be drawing, it could be RPGs, it could be writing. There is no right way to get to this state, just your way.

Keep that mindset of the world being alive and I’m sure you’ll find a way to make a better future.

Steven Savage

The Desire For Exchange

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

I’d like to propose something to my fellow writers, creatives, and philosophical types. What if we were to exchange such things as written folios, guides, and musings of our various interests? Imagine exchanging a few thousand words specifically among your fellows for deep contemplation and writing.

This idea struck me for two reasons:

First, in my readings on religion, writing, and so on, I’d often read of people exchanging detailed outlines and folios. These were not things meant for initial public consumption but for private exchange, “beta” readings, and contemplation. They might become more later, but they had an intimacy to them.

Secondly, in an age of blogs, discord chats, and social media, I feel something is missing – longer but private communications. The kind of thing that lacks worries about public appearance but also allows for contemplative thought. It also allows for timeshifting in a busy and chaotic age.

I visualize this as a small, tight group of people exchanging communications in longer form. Such exchanges would gradually form a dialogue about whatever subjects are at hand. People may also participate in multiple related or unrelated groups, further increasing insight. The works exchange may become books, or records, or just sit in email boxes – but it’ll be a deeper exchange of ideas.

I’m going to bounce this off a few people I know and see if they want to try it. Let me know if you give it a shot as well – or want to try it!

Steven Savage