Find Your Fire

"'Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. It's what we do and share with the world that matters...far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be wide-awake to recognize them...If there's one thing I'd like most for you, it's that you'll find your calling in life. That's where true happiness and purpose lies. Whether it's taking care of abandoned animals, saving old houses from the wreckin' ball, or reading to the blind, you've got to find your fire, sugar. You'll never be fulfilled if you don't.'
'But how will I know what my fire is?'
'Oh, you'll know. One day you'll do something, see something, or get an idea that seems to pop up from nowhere. And you'll feel a kind of stirring--like a warm flicker inside your chest. When that happens, whatever you do, don't ignore it. Open your mind and explore the idea. Fan your flame. And when you do, you'll have found it.'" -Aunt Tootie and Cecilia Rose from Beth Hoffman's Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

This weekend I was at a friend's house and I asked her what she really enjoyed doing, what really made her happy. After thinking for a moment, she gave me her answer (it was exercising and making people feel good). As I often do, I turned the question on myself. What do I really enjoy doing? What really makes me happy? To put it in the words of Aunt Tootie, what is my fire? Honestly, I'm not sure I know. There are things I enjoy doing. I enjoy exercising. I enjoy reading. I enjoy dancing. I enjoy eating. I enjoy baking. There are two things I would say I love doing: teaching and listening to people.

Let's address the second one first. Listening to people may be considered an odd activity to enjoy but I love hearing what people have to say. You can find out all sorts of things if you just close your mouth and open your ears. It's fascinating to find out what makes people tick, what bothers them, what their hopes and dreams are. I often find out a lot about myself, too. And every once-in-a-while I get the opportunity to help someone.

Teaching. Why do I love to teach? I get to help people learn and understand something they didn't know before. My dad used to tell me you know you've learned something when you can effectively and correctly teach it. Teaching is a way for me to prove to myself I've learned something and that is very fulfilling. By no means am I a trained, educated teacher. I'm not in public or private schools educating the young. I do, however, get to teach occasionally at church and sometimes I teach Zumba at my local gym. I love it!

But are teaching and listening my fire? Do I wake up every morning and fall asleep every night thinking about them? Not really. I echo CeeCee Honeycutt's words: "What my fire was, I didn't know. But I promised myself that I'd find out." After all, what have I got to lose?

Have you found your fire? What is it?