When writing begins to feel like an obligation, and no longer a passion, it is time to check on the butterflies…. to make sure they still feel safe and sound and to bring them back if they’re showing any signs of boredom or distress.

In the February 2023 article titled Fall in Love with Writing Again, Anica Mrose Rissi provides advice on rekindling the flames; “To keep the flame alive, you must protect it from the wind, rain, and tsunamis of doubt”. She suggests changing your routine, setting the scene for something special like lighting a candle or playing soft music, ditching the daily drudgery, and finding fun in your project.  She further advises to question what attracted you to it in the first place, what it has meant to you over the duration, and what made the occasional struggles worth it.

Just as our relationships slide into ruts, drifting from the “I have to be with you every moment possible” to “Maybe it is time for a break”, our relationship with writing can face the same struggle.  One minute the light inside burns so bright it stings as we feverishly pour words onto the page until our fingers cramp. Then, as we progress forward, feeling comfortable with the routine and status quo, the words gradually begin to slow to a sluggish trickle until they stop altogether.  The light inside dims little by little until we find ourselves blindly groping our way around in the dark wondering what happened, what went wrong?  Where did the butterflies go?

In the online Writer’s Digest article; Why Writing Your Passions is so Important to Writers, David Adams Cleveland says to “let your passions be your guide and your inspiration.”  He tells his readers to write it “with a depth of imaginative enthusiasm and passion for your subject matter, to become a heart and soul engagement with your narrative.”  As Ernest Hemingway once said, “In order to write about life first you must live it”, writers -and individuals in general- should find, nurture, and maintain their passions in everything they write and do.  This idea coattails on a previous blog in which I quoted Zadie Smith’s proclamation that she writes so that she does not sleepwalk through life.  In failing to discover, create or carve your passion in your writing, as in your living, you risk missing life’s great opportunity to write- or live- fully.

We should already know in life that passion comes from inside us.  We might discover things on the outside that help to fuel the passion on the inside, but it must start, grow, and thrive from within.  If we search for our passion or happiness only on the outside, we will never truly live (or write) our passion.   Passion is something we treat seriously and feel intense about, with a deep degree of emotion and substance attached to it, unlike a hobby about which we feel less deeply.  We enjoy our hobbies, but we NEED our passions.  Our passion extends from our beliefs and values, ultimately serving as our north star.  It does not have to be any one thing we do, but it is the driving force behind what we do. 

To illustrate this idea more clearly, a personal example is my passion for health wellness.  While in this case I do not enjoy or “like” exercising (as a hobby), I do love how it makes me feel overall.  I cannot NOT run or workout.  I NEED it in my life. It is a part of who I am- like my eyes or the limbs attached to my body. Passion is big and all encompassing and it drives our thoughts, desires, missions, and behaviors. As the force inside individuals who strive to become better people, spread world peace, end world hunger and homelessness, discover a cure for cancer or other suffering, build spiritual awareness or political understanding, address mental health, or inspire children with special needs and disabilities, the passion burns deeply. From it springs speaking engagements, non-profit organizations, volunteer groups, fund raising projects, political campaigns, better habits, or best sellers, to name a few.  

To further illustrate this notion, the comparison of passion to hobbies is described in the Morning Coach Blog:

Time plays a significant part in distinguishing a hobby from a passion. Therefore, a hobby is generally a “time-killer”; it’s something that you may do to pass the time, so you won’t get bored. So, whenever you have some free time after finishing work or during breaks, what you do during these periods are generally your hobbies: playing video games, browsing the Internet, reading a book, watching TV, etc.

A passion works differently: you “make time” to do these things. So, no matter how busy you are every day, you ensure that you dedicate some time to your passion. You may even find a way to integrate your passion while doing your job. A hobby is something you can pass on doing if time doesn’t permit it, but with passion, you try your best to do them even for a short while because they are that important to you and gives you immense satisfaction and drive from doing them.

Hobbies generally involve activities that make you feel good and happy. So, whenever you feel down and want to unwind, they are the things you turn to do. They are generally light-hearted activities that don’t need great skill or motivation to do. The same things may also apply when doing something you are passionate about; however, they lean more towards positive reinforcement and encouragement. Passions tend to give you that inner fire to do something, and they are things that may bring significant positive changes in your life by fulfilling goals or unlocking more opportunities in your life. On the other hand, passions have a heavier emotional investment, and they are things that may bug your mind whenever you aren’t able to do them because you are just that invested in doing them.

Butterflies come and go in relationships, in our seasonal adventures, next chapters and in new projects.  They provide us with a euphoric feeling of happiness and peace we hope will last forever. But, yes, because passion is that important to our dreams, our goals, our agendas, or our relationships- whether a relationship with one person, a community, a task, an idea, or our writing, we also risk heartbreak, disappointment, bitterness, or loss. But, as the saying goes, nothing worthwhile in life is free or easy and whether it is the passion driving our writing or the passion in our daily living, life philosophy or relationships- the risk attached to it is a chance worth taking.

To lose sight of, or control over, the passion inside us should not mean the end of our writing or whatever it is in life we feel might be in jeopardy of slipping away.  Instead, the threat of it disappearing is the wake-up call we needed to re-ignite our passion, to realize and appreciate its precious value, and to do what it takes to bring the butterflies back before they get away or ever feel the desire to leave us again.