Follow Your Heart

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” 
– Rumi

We humans are passionate creatures at our core. We are driven by our deep-rooted love for things that give us meaning and satisfaction. We derive great happiness in living out these dreams and some of us even dedicate our whole lives pursuing these passions. Some highly gifted people did not only follow their hearts but also influenced so many others around them that they became a part of our history.

In today’s world, however, it does not usually build up to be all that perfect. Lack of time, opportunities, an uncertain future and most importantly – regular routine marked life, all comes in the way of realising these dreams most times. It can be hard to rationalise, drown the discouraging voices in the head and convince oneself and the society that anything good can come out of it and that it’s not a ‘waste of time’. Luckily, none of these trivial things stop the truly driven. Their sheer determination and desire to make it against all odds, come rain or shine, is truly commendable. It’s definitely not a cake-walk, but then what’s life if it’s not a bit challenging.

Exhibit A

Take the example of 20-year-old Aishwarya Honnavalli. This young artist with dreamy eyes is still at college doing her post-graduation in Psychology but that doesn’t stop her from taking time off from day-to-day chores to dedicate her time and energy towards art. “I derive a lot of inspiration from music. I also talk to other artists for ideas and make it a point to show my work to other artists for critique. I’m constantly plugged into the art world so I always feel connected,” says Aishwarya. It takes serious effort and a lot of attention to make something out of what you love.

Exhibit B

While Aishwarya seeks out personal interaction, Dilpreet Sandhu, on the other hand makes sure she’s involved in her interest at all times without fail. A person from a fitness and events background, Dilpreet is a photographer at heart capturing anything and everything that catches her attention. She says the idea is to never go too long without indulging. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be shoots, sometimes I just take my camera out to photograph friends who are out playing football only because I enjoy it.” Her reason to do this was creating it to be a memorable event even though it was a regular weekend game for the players.

Exhibit C

For Sunaina Ravindra, however, her true calling was only chanced upon accidentally. A former advertising professional, Sunaina turned to Yoga for fitness and wellness reasons and instantly fell in love with it. So much that she quit her job and directed her complete energy towards pursuing it as a full-time career. She is of the belief that if you truly love something, there is nothing and no one that can stop you from realising it.

It is important to note in all the above examples that these enthusiasts have created some events around their interests to make sure they are constantly indulged in it. Creating an event doesn’t always have to mean an elaborate, up-scale, jazzy one. Simple, easy-to-execute and budgeted events are possible and are also far more effective in achieving your goals. Small events like DIY groups, meet-ups with like-minded people, workshops for similar interest groups are feasible and within reach. These events not only give you an opportunity to keep yourself happy but are a reason to hone your skills, be able to explore the length and breadth of the field of interest, stay updated with trends and exchange great ideas with people.

Ultimately, to know what you want and love, unfortunately, does not suffice these days. It is the need to make something out of it, the need to keep it alive, to have the perseverance to achieve it and a never-say-die spirit that truly defines you and ultimately what will give you the sense of fulfilment. The idea is to stir things up, go out there, meet people, create things and be a part of eventful things. There’s never been a better time in the world to be creative.

And the world is only getting smaller, the opportunities bigger. So what are you still waiting for? Take the leap and watch yourself soar!