Passion.... Artists in Their Element

I wrote this in 2006... I plan to add to it soon but until then read n enjoy!

I am an observant person, at least in my opinion. I love to sit back and take in my surroundings. In my somewhat short-lived lifetime, I have had the pleasure to know lots of musicians, photographers, models, actors, and other artistic-minded souls the like. They are all very different but all share one very common factor, their passion for their craft or gift.

At a past college that I attended, I immersed myself into the theatrical and on-stage lifestyle. I was drawn to the mystery of it all. So many different and various artist all brought together for one common purpose. The purpose of displaying their passion for everyone to see from the models with great bodies, aspiring actors that could evoke great emotion, awesome singers who could sing you to tears and very talented musicians who many times deserved and received standing ovations. The whole experience was eye-opening and intoxicating both at the same time.

Even in my church, there are some great musicians, singers, and songwriters. Some times, I find myself just watching the praise band do what they do best, putting their passion for their gift out there for others to appreciate it (and to the glory of God, of course). Many times, they are not appreciated as they should be and sometimes taken for granted, but they still do it. That just goes to show people that they don't do it for the praise and glory of others, they do it for themselves and the love that they have for it. Passion is an awesome motivator.

I once asked a friend of mine, who just happens to be a musician, when does he feels most free. His response was when he is practicing and playing his music. I, myself, am not a musician. I can't play an instrument well enough to even hold that title and nor can I sing, but I can totally understand what he means. You think one would get tired of the practicing or whatever processes they go through to hone their skills, but it's the hard work that pays off.

Have you ever paid attention to a musicians face when they are playing, a model's body language and attitude on the catwalk, a singer singing their heart out, an actor/actress when they are on stage, photographer on set, or a painter making their masterpiece. Their whole demeanor changes before your eyes. It really is quite amazing. It is all due to the passion that is deeply embedded in their heart. Passion…artists in their element, it really is a breath-taking act to witness.

I must add that this is not just limited to artists, people every day display passion about their careers. I only chose these specific people because it is who I am around mostly. I can only write about what I know. Much respect to all.

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Ok, so here it is 2012, a whole six years later and I'm a little later than I planned to be adding on to this topic. I am a member of a Facebook group that embodies musicians of all skill-levels and genres, from the big stage to just practicing in their basement. In the group, they describe their version of passion. Here are some excerpts:

    'Lawrence Blacksurfer Farmer-- Quite str8 forward.....when I walk in your house.... Get in your car.... Have a convo with u...do u bleed music?!...... And MOST important of all.......are Others Affected by your Passion?!?!?!?........ If you hung/worked out with Lebron James or Kobe Bryant....it wouldn't talk long for your to GET that their Passion IS basketball... If you ever Rode shotgun with a Cop.... You would CLEARLY see... That fighting crime is a PASSION....Everybody ain't built to do everything......but that don't take away from their Passion....case in point the Musician with MAD GEAR who can't play a lick!!! One cannot say he doesn't have passion because CLEARLY they have invested $$$ but if that same cat would never consider dropping $$ for some lessons then maybe his passion is for the IMAGE of an Elite Musician...... Hmmmmmm'

"Passion in any Phase of Life is Contagious......So if you SAY you have a Passion for Music and no one has been INfected then.........#PassionFail...... Some of y'all are too Young to Really have Passion for anything....that's just LIFE....but with Music Passion CAN be measured by the Trail......#BlazeIt"

 "No Trail You FAIL!!!"( also written by Lawrence Farmer)

Webster's dictionary definition of passion is 'a : the emotions as distinguished from reason; b : intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction a : ardent affection : love; b : a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept; c : an object of desire or deep interest.'

So here's my spin on the whole passion topic.....

I think a person's passion is something that encompasses that person. It totally consumes them and therefore, it has no choice but to flow out of them because of their mindset. There is a saying/proverb out that states something along the lines of whatever you think, therefore you are. In layman's terms(my interpretation), whatever you think about, it is what you are. People who have a passion, in this case for music, eat, sleep, and drink music. It's their second language. They can listen to a song and break it down the timing, what instrument played what section, and probably other details I couldn't imagine. But I think it goes further than that,(I'm going to try to explain it the way I see it in my head), their passion for music goes much deeper than the practicing, rehearsals, researching and listening to music. Music is him/her/them! It's what drives them to get up every morning, spend long hours practicing(gig or no gig). When he/she/they plays, they are transformed into all the things they cannot say and/or express.

My cousin's words...."Jessica Lumpkin--I definitely go in another mode when I'm playing. There's nothing like it...most people expect a different person or personality, because I'm everything I'm not when I'm playing: bold, aggressive, beautiful, soft, dynamic. unshielded..."

 Passion is a person's drive to get his/her/their most rawest and truest self out... not holding anything back.

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Passion is contagious as previously quoted. Being around passionate people makes you want to find something that drives you just as hard, well at least if you want to go somewhere in life.

"I just think cats get confused with liking something a lot and having a PASSION for it....it's like in church.... We all wanna see folk get saved....but an EVANGELIST has a PASSION for souls.... It consumes them... So they (the Legit ones) conduct themselves accordingly.... Do those of us So-Called Passionate music minds do the same!?!?" This statement says a lot about the difference in passion and what people perceive as passion. Well, hopefully this aids in distinguishing the two.

Again, I used musicians as a reference because that is who I was around but this principle applies to all artists the like. Shoot, this applies to all people of passion. Passionate people continue to push even when others think that they have risen to a certain level because they always feel they can do more and better than the last time.

Until next time.

Let's Talk Love...

So there was a post on Facebook that read, "Love is...." so I thought long and hard before I replied so here is my answer, "Love just 'is'...as previously posted... It's simple but yet like many things we make it complicated. Things like hurt, disappointment, and scorn taint our perception of it." I omitted the last part because it's irrelevant. He wasn't asking a question though although many like myself did leave a comment of what we think love is. Here I'm going to elaborate on the subject or at least my perception of the subject. As I previously stated love is simple, we as people make it hard. Think of children and pets in this example, children and pets love unconditionally. Believe it or not, we teach our children how to love or in better terms, pass on our interpretation of love. Some people mistreat their children or their pets but despite that, the child or pet will still cry when remove out of said adult's care. Kind of baffles the mind doesn't it?! There are often stories of children removed from their parents' care for mistreatment but they, ironically, ran away back to those parents who hurt them in the first place. This is why domestic violence/abuse is passed down through generations because that is how their parents' showed their 'love'. It's a sad and tragic cycle. So back to my main point. love in itself is simple. We are built to love. We do things we love which in turn become our hobbies, if not our jobs if we are lucky/blessed. Our idea of love slowly adjusts as we go thru life and experience various hurts and/or disappointments especially by the people who claim to 'love' us.

My ideal of love is that love is an action. Never just words, too many people have told me they loved me but their actions screamed differently. I have faced the fact that I am a hard person to love. I push people away but I don't know why, I just seem to have that knack for it. I'm the type of person that you don't have to spend a whole lot of money on... I'm all about being creative in displaying love. I guess you could classify me as a romantic. I would love to walk on the beach holding hands, relax in the park, or chill in the house lounging on my partner, watching television or a movie. Let's cook together, have a water-gun fight, or just make-out like high school kids as long as we are spending time together, I'm happy. Now this doesn't mean we are hanging together both on our cellphones or laptops, ignoring each other. Show me you love me, if you know I'm sick call/text to see how I feel. Send me an email to let me know I'm on your mind. Communicate with me, to me there's nothing sexier than stimulating conversation. Tell me about the day, stories of days as kid and about family, and/or whatever we feel at the moment. I'm an emotion gal, as much as I try to hold it together some days, I just can't and all I want is just a hug... no words needed. I think my biggest flaw among many that I have is that I love too much. I do things for people that don't deserve it and that use me but why, despite how bad they make me feel, I do things in my ability because I know that they need me on some level. I love my child and I pray every day and night that I am teaching them to love correctly. Sorry for any rambling, I have a tendency to do that too. :)

Until next time readers....