Thursday, October 7, 2010

Random, People

One reason why I love people.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

A Tribute to Action

I love people.  I love meeting new people, talking to them, hearing about what they are doing in life and why.  I especially love people who find something they love, are passionate about it, and then go do it.  Even when it's unconventional or as some might even say "irresponsible."  I've discovered if you love it, if it makes you happy, then you should be doing it because by doing it you will not only find joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment in your own life but it puts you in the best position to help others do the same.

There are three people I've met/seen recently, two are new friends, the third is an old friend.  They are unconventional.  They are amazing.  Sharaya and Ally both quit their jobs to take a gamble on doing something unique that would allow them both to do what they love.  Their gamble is a 50 state road-trip where Sharaya get to spend time writing music and playing in various venues across the country while Ally blogs about their experiences and writes a book on their adventure.  You can read Ally's writings and follow their adventure at http://sharayamikael.wordpress.com/ and listen to Sharaya's music at Amazon or on her Facebook page.  She gave a short house show at our place tonight and she is amazing.

I ran into my third friend, Joey, at a Real Salt Lake soccer game a little over a week ago.  I hesitantly approached not sure it was him foremost because I was in the U.S.  It would surprise me less running into him in Cairo, Istanbul, Rome, or any other random city in the world.  We use to go on adventurous weekend expeditions when we were both living in Jordan studying Arabic and would find ourselves in the most random places.  Drinking tea with Bedouins in an ruinous Roman city on the Syrian boarder, or talking to Jordanian military guards on patrol overlooking the Golan Heights, or hitchhiking back from the Dead Sea after a grueling hike through the desert (on multiple occasions).  The difference is after all of that he just kept going and doing what he loves; traveling, meeting new people, studying languages and cultures all while writing about and photographing the world he sees.

I'm envious of those who are doing what they love, they inspire me.  Partly because I really don't know what I love enough to do it, and partly because they have the strength to do the unconventional.