My Passions

Passion. It's the new buzzword. "Find your passion", "Live your passion". Almost like we should base our lives around only doing those things that we are really excited about. Ask any parent about how well that works!

I have quite a few personal passions. Some of them, like reading and writing, began when I was young. I actually don't remember learning to read; I remember going to the library when I was four, and found it fascinating in my Kindergarten class to read the words the teacher had posted all over the room; "North", "South", "cat", "chair"- I am pretty sure everything was identified! Somehow, when I was 10 or so, I acquired an old Underwood manual typewriter. The tall kind with the metal keys and exposed levers. My illustrious writing career began with attempts at family interviews and a newsletter. No matter that my family consisted of me, Mom and Dad, and my little sister, with frequent visits by my maternal grandmother! I was a writer, and I was published!

Another focus of mine is gardening. My Great Grandmother, Leona Hallquist, could grow things, I swear, just by looking at them! She had beautiful vines, grapes, flowers, vegetables, roses, shrubs- I never heard of anything she couldn't grow. I learned about Chayote because she had one growing up a trellis. When I was a little girl, I thought her yard was just what the Garden of Eden must have looked like! I love to garden, and although I have had my share of failures, have managed to have a garden everywhere we've lived for the past 30 years. Today I even have a greenhouse, and it is very satisfying to get out there and keep things growing 9 months out of the year. In my experimentation with Vegetarian and Vegan diets, growing food has been really important. Even now, as a "Real Foodie", I am very happy to grow my own food on my own terms and know what has gone into it. At this moment, in fact, there are flats of little seedlings in the laundry room, stretching up towards the ceiling and putting out secondary leaves.

My list of "loves" is pretty extensive. Some of them I no longer do for time or space or health reasons. Dance. Hiking. Camping. Sewing. Playing piano. I would be pretty forlorn without music and cooking. I have moved on a bit from the days of cooking three-plus meals a day for a large family, but I really enjoy new recipes, making my own flour and broths, chocolate, nut butters and milks. Food has always been a big deal in my life; frankly, it's the main way I have tried to show my family and friends how much I love them. That's not a popular belief these days; we aren't supposed to focus on food, use it as rewards or emotional attachments. While I can see the point, I am realistic; who doesn't relish a soothing, warm, cup-of-something when it is cold or has been a long day? A lovely dinner, a favorite dessert- a sign that you are loved and someone has been thinking of you! I have bribed people with food in order to get something done. My "IT Guy", will always come to help me if I have chocolate on hand. Which ought to tell you- I ALWAYS have chocolate on hand!

A passion I've only had the past few years has been essential oils. I was fortunate enough in 2009 to go to a class about doTERRA CPTG oils, and although I had used oils a little in the past, and had some in my medicine cabinet, I did not know about using them daily or the many kinds of oils and what you could do with them. It literally changed my life. I came home with three bottles- Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint. Compared the peppermint from doTERRA to the brand I had at home, and I was sold. Since then, it has been a wonderful journey to learn about the healing properties of essential oils. My body has been able to heal in significant ways, and most of all, I have been able to share and teach and bless the lives of anyone who will listen to me or let me help them! I am proud to be with a high quality, passionate company, and now that I have fewer household responsibilities, I hope to spend more time teaching and actually growing a business. Be warned! I will mention doTERRA essential oils often; they really are a big part of my life!

My biggest passion, however, has to be my relationship with God. I don't intend to preach here, or share a lot of what I believe, because to me, it's a deeply personal journey. Two of my marriages ended because of my commitment to serving God as I best understood how. I love to read and study doctrine, history and apocryphal works. I pray daily, and I often talk to the Lord in my head as I go about my tasks. I know He lives; He is part of my daily walk and talk. I hope everyone finds joy in serving Him, in whatever way you have chosen.

I do believe that our passions can rule us for good or bad. It also seems to me, as I am getting older, that there really is "a time and a season" for everything in our lives. 20 years ago, I did not have time to learn about and use essential oils. I also considered myself "healthy" and probably would not have paid attention to it like I do now. My reading habits and interests have changed. My responsibilities in life are not the same as when I was raising children. Looking back on my journey, it seems obvious to me how some things have come and gone, reappeared, repurposed and been variations on a theme! All my life, I have sought to learn and grow, understand and do. It has been a great blessing to have that drive, to enjoy and develop my passions, and find new ones as time and circumstances brought them to me. All in all, I am grateful for it, and happy to have so much to be interested and participate in! Comment, if you will, on what your particular passions are!