MaXIMIze Your Affliction, Your Bliss, Your Passion

I was flying the friendly skies home on Southwest the other day after spending the holiday with my darling daughter, and I read their inflight magazine. On the back cover was the following verbiage in an ad for Affliction Clothing:

"Affliction - the passion that drives us to reach for greatness - we are inspired by those who live fast and are willing to endure pain and suffering to push the limits of what is possible - you embrace the ideology of "never say 'I can't' but 'I am the first who ever has'." Your affliction makes you lead when others choose to follow - you create when others consume - you hear music when others hear noise - your affliction lets you see beyond the chaos as art emerges from within - you will rise, you will fall, but you will greet the challenge - you, innovators, are the fuel - our affliction is to design and create clothing that speaks to you - we share your insanity and will not be ignored - you inspire us - it is our affliction that binds us together - we will change things - every man dies, but not every man truly lives! What is your affliction?"

On the last page of the magazine was an interview with Hugh Jackman, a talented actor of both stage and screen - best known as Wolverine or Van Helsing in the circles I run in. He said that it took him a while to realize it is okay to follow your bliss.

And this is what flowed from my pen after reading those words:

Afflicted with passion - afflicted with bliss - neither of which can be denied - follow them willingly or have them pull you along kicking and screaming - forever haunting you for your denial - live life with no regret, follow your heart, follow your passion - live large for to live small is to live not at all - face your fears, your demons, your things that go bump in the night - live with what is not what if - what will be, not what can be - what/who you really are, not the boxes others put you in (or you put yourself in) - dreams denied turn into nightmares - ghosts that haunt you - dreams realized give you wings - free your soul - find your passion, find your bliss, find your life, free your soul.

Wow!