After watching The Dark Knight last year I was amazed by the character of Batman. And I got to thinking about other comic book characters, wondering if any of the other superheroes could compare. I’m a nerd but not an uber-nerd so I only went through some of the main ones: Spiderman, Wolverine, Hulk, Superman, etc. They all have their positives and negatives but to me none compared to Batman.But this isn’t some character piece on Bruce Wayne. As usual my thoughts got distracted and while thinking of cool things about Superman I remembered that he drew his power from our Sun, and when he was down on energy he could use it to recharge himself. OK, I know what you’re thinking…“Where you going with this one?” but here we go!
It made me question myself: What is my sun? What is the thing I go to when I feel blue? Where do I find my inspiration and motivation? What gives me an energy in life? What is my passion? Ultimately, in an ideal world, every aspect of life would be our passion. But generally we all have pet likes and dislikes and each individual has his or her own passion(s) in life. So ask yourself those questions above to find your sun.
Music is my sun. There have been countless times when I have been feeling down and I listen to an album in solitude and it brings me out of the self pity, it reminds me it’s not so bad and I feel refreshed and energised. Other times I have been listening to music and while performing a tedious task for study or work, or some hard exercise and it makes the whole experience not just bearable but enjoyable. The chance to go for a run at night under the stars is exponentially greater with my iPod.
On top of having a passion I think that being aware of it is very important to help yourself grow. For the last three years I have sought refuge in artists like The Beatles, The Who, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin and with each new artist that I connect with I have another tool at my disposal to use whenever I need it. So instead of sticking with these artists I am always looking to expand the list (See AotW) and expand my range of inspiration. Another benefit is to consciously use your passion to be proactive. Whenever I am about to write this blog, my fledgling screenplay or even my journal I throw on an album or two or three.
Finally the real magic of your passion is that someone out there in the world shares the same passion. Same artists or filmmakers. Same sports team or player. Same collection or hobby. Same food or wine. Whatever it is, don’t just sit back, go out and share it with the world and connect with people you would have never met otherwise. There are plenty of ways to embrace your passion. The best would be to make it your career if possible. Obviously that’s a tough one so alternatively you could join a sports team or book club, join a class or teach one. I love writing so we started this blog. And the chance to embrace my passion with my friends makes it even more special.
And if one passion isn’t enough don’t be afraid to have two or more. Twice the passions - twice the joy. And don’t be afraid to try something new. I didn’t always love the Beatles but I took a chance and it changed my life. In 2007 I took Spanish classes just to do something different and it inspred my trip to South America and now I am fascinated by travel and language and have Spanish speaking friends living 10000km away.
Don’t just let your interests be some light diversion from your job, find and embrace your passions share them with the world. And if you’re feeling a little hesitant the easiest way to get started is to use the internet; this amazing tool which can connect the whole world. There are forums, websites, blogs and fans of pretty much every topic under your Sun.
- Eden (while listening to Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys)
I'm not sure how to even formulate a response to this... for now I can say it's invigorating.
ReplyDeleteI'll get back to this later when I've read it a few more times and thought about it some more.
Where is the nerdy analysis of Batman?? You don't have to trick me I'm your friend!
ReplyDeleteWell written piece though; makes me think of Laroche in Adaptation.
hehe, i actually think in a few weeks i might write a nerdy analysis of Batman, but i need to watch the movie again
ReplyDeleteMan this is great, it inspired my night last night
ReplyDeleteYou had me at The Dark Knight.
ReplyDeleteNice article. Music is definitely one of my Suns. The other day I put a new album (The Black Keys - thickfreakness) on while making my way to work. It grabbed me so much I hardly realised that I was sitting in traffic for about forty minutes.
It made me think of people who don't really have that connection with music, you know, the people that when you ask them what music they listen to they say "pretty much anything" but can't really give you a precise answer, or when you ask for their all time top five they just rattle of anything they can think of. Obviously they have their other releases, or suns, as you put it. But I am baffled by people who don't lose themselves in music.
But seriously, write that article on Superheroes, I could talk all day about them. Personally Superman is my favourite. He is the perfect superhero, the definitive symbol of good. Then, I also like the dark, reluctant hero types like Wolverine.
haha. Batman is sooo much cooler than superman. But ill save that for another day.
ReplyDeleteI actually agree that music is a thing of its own and it's hard to imagine anything filling that void.