Passion and Living

From the chapter MEANING AND PASSION from the book, "Medicine For The Earth" by Sandra Ingerman:

"Life without meaning results in despair. A life devoid of passion causes disease, whereas passion creates vitality. A life without passion is not vital."

I think too many people are stripped of their passion, whatever form it might take. Mindless entertainment such as television that is PASSIVE in nature, does not allow time for passions and we have been taught that if our passion doesn't create money it has no validity.

Also another quote that struck me as I look around at all the TV lighted windows every night: (oh how I loathe television, I loathe it with a passion!)

"Is it that we have deadened ourselves as we became socialized? Does this deadening make us vulnerable to passionate bacteria and viruses that want to live more than we do?"

Throwing 'doubt' at people's passions is something engrained in many of our lives. Just little doubts, the praise for a painting with the slight hesitation in the voice, the insincere smile. I do it. I want to stop. Throwing doubt at people is so subtle, and yet so negatively powerful. I'm starting to catch the subtlties of it, in my own behavior, having been at the recieving end for too long.