Each of us has our “thing”, sometimes more than one. By thing, I am referring to that passion in life, which occasionally drives us to exhibit various irrational behaviors but also provides a sense of fulfillment not attainable through most other activities. Automobiles serve many in this capacity, often commanding great sums of money for a means of transportation that will only be put to use on warm summer weekends, perhaps for the Sunday ride to church or to tool around chic areas of the city. For others, their thing is an activity less taxing on the finances but more so on personal time, like online gaming. My wife’s thing is a passion for crafting our living environment, both inside and outside our home. A new picture, plant, or lawn ornament routinely slips past my keen sense of observation only to be brought to my attention later through a slightly disappointed line of questioning, including the inevitable knockout punch, “Do you notice anything different today?”

Passions are good things. Their pursuit can provide us with a sense of fulfillment and also offer an element of purpose or direction in life. They’re good for the economy because businesses can hire a creative marketing staff who uses them as tools to draw more of that green stuff from our pockets. They can be good for society as a whole by paving the way for improvements in the quality of our lives. People who are passionate about computers found a way to take a machine that was once the size of a small house and pack it in container small enough for each of us to set atop our desks.

What I find particularly interesting about passions, though, is the difficulty of understanding those which are not our own. As can be inferred from my curt descriptions above, I am not an automobile enthusiast, online gamer, or interior/exterior designer. Like most of you, I am passionate about music and other artistic endeavors and have a devil of a time relating to the guy who enjoys lengthy debate on the performance advantages of Linux vs. Windows. It’s certainly nothing personal; I just don’t place enough priority on that particular topic to gain any satisfaction from discussing it. I’d much prefer to throw on some Pink Floyd and get fired up about the harmonic feedback that flares up three or four times during the last guitar solo on Comfortably Numb, an amazing bit of musical perfection which could doubtfully ever be replicated.

It’s not uncommon for me to point out a unique tone, effect, or structure while listening to music with my wife or friends. Or, I’ll seek feedback on how a particular melody fits with the main riff of a song I’m composing. Most of the time there’s a furrowing of the brow to suggest some evaluation followed by a slight nod of approval. My response to the fellow who comments on the benefits of Chevy’s new fuel injection system is much the same. Still, I often find myself rather frustrated by others’ indifference toward my passion and sometimes question its importance, wondering if I’m spending time on the wrong thing.

The perspective to maintain is that passions basically come with one of those little caveats we read on most product warranties – “This is non-transferable.” So, the next time you’re feeling a bit discouraged because no one else seems to get it, just remember that little rule and understand, asking most others, “Isn’t that tone amazing,” is much the same as them asking you, “Do you notice anything different today?”

--Bryan Fries
bryan@thezone.org

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