It’s interesting how we decide what we care about. It seems to be a strange merger between inherent personal passions and a degree of contextualization. As in, it is hard to develop a passion about communication, politics, or community without interactions with other people – especially people who disagree on those issues. We can have an inclination toward a particular passion or vision, but I wonder if we can arrive at the complete understanding of that vision without meeting other people and their passions.
It’s tied into the claim – as I understand it – that you can’t have an individual without a community. We need other people in order to refine and sometimes even catch our own personal passion and purpose.
I think about two types of people in context of this whole thought. There seem to be vision casters and vision catchers. Like most personality or character breakdowns, I’m sure that everyone is a blend between these two, but the distinction can be useful regardless.
Vision Casters are the people who have a passion and purpose that just seems to spring up out of their soul. They are committed and capable of communicating their vision in exciting and meaningful ways. Vision Catchers are the ones who can become ignited by an idea in a specific realm. They are the people who, having bought into a vision, are tenacious in its pursuit and implementation – even if they weren’t the originators.
The world absolutely needs both. But it’s important to recognize their dangers along with their strengths. Vision Casters need to know how their vision fits into other people’s passions. Can I justify furthering my passion at the expense of other’s ideas? Furthermore, this requires a true type of introspective questioning for validity. Just because we are passionate about something does not make it true … and we need to be careful not to mistake vision for validity.
Vision Catchers need to be careful not to get caught up – and subsequently burnt out – in too many visions and passions. It’s important also to know where – or from whom – your passion is coming from. Knowing this is part of recognizing where you begin and other people and their ideas end. This knowledge doesn’t remove the meaning of that passion, but means you can perceive it more clearly. I guess the point is that if you are a Vision Catcher, you should be careful not to mistake other people’s passions for the one you are supposed to pursue.
I believe that everyone should be passionate about something. Something important and legacy-building … but it’s also important to understand how we interact with our passions and not become so blinded that we can’t see how others directly and dramatically influence those passions. Be passionate … but be intentional about the development of that passion.