Am I willing to risk the comfort zone of the known to pursue my passion?
By YVETTE NAHMIA-MESSINAS‘I SENSE that life is always asking us to grow, move on and expand. I hear the call, calling us to pursue vitality and fulfillment.’(photo credit: REUTERS)
Last week we moved to daylight saving time in Israel, and with it the light in our lives grew and my optimism rekindled. Over the weekend my father underwent an operation to place a valve in his heart, to help regulate his blood flow and to boost his health. At 82, he is fit, active, his mind clear and his memory working, with a loving partner – my mum – by his side.Agreeing to have a valve put in to regulate his blood flow is a statement.In a sense, he is saying “yes” to life and to what life has to offer him. He has dreams of buying a sailboat with a friend, and to sail the Greek seas that he so much loves and feels nurtured by. In short, at 82 he still sticks to his dreams and pursues his passion.This time marks a new start for my mother as well. She too is turning a new page, by learning the new digital technologies that she shied away from in the past. Today, she was proud of sending me by email her first photograph, shot with her brand new smartphone.Hurray! By acquiring the digital skills of Facebook, email and smartphone technology she is affirming her willingness to be part of and co-create the present-day culture.For their life-affirming attitude, I am proud of my folks.I pause to wonder: does the light grow within me too? Am I life-affirming and out there looking to expand and grow as they do? Do I also ride the wave of renewal and rebirth that my folks are so actively pursuing? Am I willing to risk the comfort zone of the known to pursue my passion? And what is my passion?When I was a child I dreamed of a writing career, a dream which I partly realized when I worked as the senior writer and managing editor of the Yad Vashem magazine. But there came a time I felt I wanted to write about what I chose and cared deeply about.I guess that now that my Jerusalem Post blog is a reality, I have sort of actualized the dream of writing for writing’s sake.Last week, I ordered a new pair of reading glasses from my trusted optician in the German Colony. I got myself a purple-colored frame, elegantly designed, which I found made me feel good and look my best. I hated to admit that my eyesight has deteriorated yet again, but hand in hand with this physical deterioration, I truly sense that now I see better than ever before.I now clearly see when women and men are exploited and put down, belittled when they ask for more.And I see that life is collectively pushing us to own our power, to dare to pursue our respective passions and dreams.I see that humanity is at a turning point, being asked to dare be all we are and contribute our respective talents toward the good of all.With this acquired inner seeing that comes with age, I sense that life is always asking us to grow, move on and expand. I hear the call, calling us to pursue vitality and fulfillment. And I, too, agree it is never too late to learn, never too late to grow, and never too late to pursue our loves and dreams, especially now, at this season, when the light is on the rise.The author is a poet and blogger who was born in Athens and lives in Jerusalem with her family.
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