Planting Passion

Todays experiences with finding ones "passion" has noticeably been replaced with have to's, must do's and need to's. In the day and age of checking off boxes, passion has become a lost art.

Before the surge of technology, and people posting about their latest dining experience, or filling up our quiet time with screens, we had to go seek adventure. Often in the seeking, seeds of passion were planted. Babysitting, passion to parent, be a caregiver, or teach; legos, passion to build and create; bike ride/ hike/ walk, passion to be in the outdoors or appreciate the environment; reading, passion to dream and imagine.

Before learning to talk, many children have learned how to navigate a smart phone to keep busy at times we remember having to find a quiet activity in the house, explore in our yards, play sports outside with neighbors, or stare out a window on a long car ride and daydream, or interact with a sibling for an epic game of "I spy" or 21 questions.

How do we help our kids find and enjoy a passion not linked to the hopes of what it will look like on a college application, or what skills it will create to try out for a D1 college sport team?

Most of us have a set of strengths and general interests. Seeing our children and what their strengths and interests outside of the boxes they find themselves in are, can help us create for them space to explore passions.

Ways to create such passion could start by signing up for summer camps that connect to interests outside academics and specified sports, or making a space in the home that creates room for inner exploration, a corner with arts and crafts, musical instruments, a library, or building blocks.

Passion has helped so many of us adults seek out a space in the world that helps us balance. The best thing we can leave our kids, is to nurture such passion in them.