Confessions of a Multi-Passion Woman
I remember once when my husband told me I had too many projects going. I had decided to empty my closets and install organizers…shelving…rods for hanging…like that. Trouble was that when I emptied one closet, I realized I didn’t want to put all of that back in the same closet. The result? I emptied al five closets at once and, of course, had gotten all the organizers to reconstruct all five of them.
My husband was concerned when he came upon me and my project…how did he put it?…”I’m not sure I should say this…but sometimes I think you are manic and maybe depressed.” I burst into hysterical laughter. When I recovered, I explained that, yes, I did always have many projects going…AND…sooner or later they all were completed. That was/is the way I, and many women I know, live.
I’m curious! I always want to try new things…follow a new idea… And recently one of my friends (I regret to say I cannot remember who…but maybe if that person reads this, I can give them credit) was commenting that she was just what she called “a multi passion person.” Yes! I remember thinking at the time…that’s IT! That IS what I am! Can’t help myself…it’s my DNA.
What has been truly amazing, is that I’ve been able to follow up on most, if not all, of the opportunities presented to me.
After college, I became active in my community(ies) responding to challenges and doing my best to make things better for everyone…fair housing efforts, mistreatment by those in authority of those without power to defend themselves, politics…all of which eventually propelled me into law school. The law always fed my curiosity. As an employment litigator, I’d have to dissect a variety of working situations, be it a corporate setting, a meat-packing plant, a sheet metal installation…you get the drift. The process for me Was taking something apart…clear down to the bones so to speak. I found out how all the pieces fit and then put it back together. I was always eager to learn something new, including how human emotion fits in, often a critical component, in what we do and how we do it.
Coaching followed, and while I still dissected and participated in the reconstruction of situations, I moved to empowering others to address their own challenges and make their own choices.
Through all of this I kept myself occupied with other things as well. I knit…sweaters, hats, shawls, blankets…on and on. It seems as if when I knit, I was able to dissect and rebuild more quickly. With my left brain occupied by a task, I allowed my right brain to wander and wonder… in the end to “see” what had been right in front of me or the client all along…the key(s) to successfully addressing or diffusing the situation. The right brain was free to explore and offer gifts of awareness.
Today I’m as curious as ever. I’ve just added dimensions that have expanded my capacity to reconstruct! Covid took me into reflection mode at the same time that it engendered more creativity. My fiber work moved to another level. I began weaving…in earnest so it seems. This is an even greater challenge to my left brain. I’m still doing my work, and it’s even easier and often even more fruitful! It’s as though I “see” in an instant what’s going on…for me…and for others.
All this being said, my husband has grown used to, embraced, and even supports this”multi-passion” existence of mine. And I think, finally, I do too.
Bottom line? Give the left brain something to do…something challenging to figure out, so the right brain can gift its awarenesses…what’s really happening…then ease yourself into your future, trusting your new-found wisdom.