A.R.Ts (122)

Last week, I met up with an individual who was trying to convince me to sign up for a service he was providing. He wasn't the best communicator. He struggled to find the right words, and often kept repeating the same thing in many different ways. He didn't catch that I was getting restless since we had overshot time. He didn't spend too much time trying to understand my needs. In short, he was an ineffective sales person. But what struck me about him was his "passion" for what he was doing. He truly and genuinely believed his service and his organisation would make a difference and impact change positively. Every nook and corner of his body shook with that belief.

When someone asks me what I am passionate about, I struggle to give an answer. Yes, there are plenty of things I love doing, but I hesitate to use the word passion to describe my feelings towards them, because that takes the relationship to the next level. It kind of starts defining you. For someone with varied and sometimes even flickering interests, passion is a scary word, almost akin to a lifelong commitment.

But being the risk taker that I am, I decided to test what it takes to convert a hobby into a passion. Not in a planned and systematic manner, but in my usual impulsive and spontaneous fashion. And A.R.Ts took shape. Today, 3 years and 121 posts later, I'm still in the first leg of the journey, trying to find my space and settle down. And I know it's going to be a long ride.

I often asks myself what it takes. When can I really start calling writing a passion? When I quit my job for it? When I publish a book? When I dedicate 5 hours everyday for it? When it consumes me so much that I am always thinking about my next new idea or book? When I pursue it single handedly with no distractions?

And then I know that there will be no answers. There will only be moments. Moments that will define you. Moments that will make you the person you are. Moments that will take you where are are meant to be.

An honest confession at the end of the three years is that more than writing, A.R.Ts has taught me many lessons in life. Humility. Discipline. Courage. Conscientiousness. Respect. Patience. Perseverance. Hard-work. My respect for bloggers, columnists and writers has shot up manifold - I am convinced that writing is less about skill and talent and all about discipline and dedication. I laugh when I remember how naive I was to think that you can't write if you are not inspired. Thank god I have grown up enough to know that the muse will not find you, you have to find the muse. And if you look long enough, you WILL find it.

Thank you all for all that you do to keep me writing week after week. Willy nilly, you have become partners in my journey to find my passion and keep it alive. I pray for each of you to find your passion, and I hope you get the same encouragement and support that I have got so far.

Here's to A.R.Ts Season 4