I hate moderation. I hate doing things
moderately. I hate having
to be controlled, mature, and disciplined. I don't want to
moderate how much I eat or drink. I don't want to be moderate
with sex, or playing, or vacations. I don't want to moderate
what
I say for fear it will offend. I don't want to do what's "good
for me."
I DO want to have a second piece of pie because it tastes good.
Sometimes, I do want to have hot sweaty sex at night and again
in
the morning because it tastes good. I want to run to the roller
coaster at Disneyland with the rest of the nine-year-old boys.
But I can't.
The pie is bad for my weight and cholesterol. The morning sex
will disturb my exhausted, sleeping wife and negatively affect
my
marital relational love. The other parents at Disneyland will
think I'm weird.
We all know what moderation, control, and discipline really
means. It means, "I don't get to have what I want. I get to
watch
other people have what I want; and seem to get away with it. I
get to convince myself that raw vegetables taste as good as a
Krispy Kreme. I don't just delay my gratification, I simply
don't
'get no satisfaction.'"
I know I need to be somewhat moderate, disciplined, and
controlled to live life effectively and for a long time--both of
which I want. But what about the juice of life--passion? I love
being passionate. Does passion have room for discipline and
moderation or does it eat them? Does sensual, hedonistic,
glorious pleasure have to wear the belt of moderation? To quote
McCauley Culkin, the font of wisdom and good choices, "I don't
think so."
Part of the wonder of new romances is doing things "over the
top;" being infatuated and going with it through cards and
flowers and three hour phone calls and getting into work late
and
tired. Real passion for something makes other things seem like
white noise and static. Passion almost demands that other stuff
be put aside so you can be excessive.
For a year, I wrote most of my first book
Stepping Stones: 10
Steps to Seizing Passion and Purpose between the hours of
9:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. and on weekends feeling possessed with a
sense of needful urgency to write. I'm ashamed to admit that it
was great even though I didn't spend as much time with my
family.
As I look back, I think the times I've been happiest in my life,
I have been obsessed and passionate about something: school, a
woman, building my career, exercise; the occasionally sublime
nexus moment I talk about in Steppingstones. At these times, I
am
almost never moderate. I don't always feel out of control; but I
am definitely excessive with my priority, big time; making
everything else number two; figuratively of course.
Are passion and purpose something you have to balance? Or does
being passionate help you with your purpose and vice versa? If
you try to balance hedonistic passion and mature, effective
living, are you cheating yourself out of both? Can you hurl
yourself into the moment and be moderate?
I need to go now. My spinach salad and diet 7-UP are getting
warm.
Light and Love,
Dr. Tim Sams
My Sacred Journey
http://www.mysacredjourney.com
Copyright 2004. Dr. Tim Sams. All rights reserved.
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