Holstee 2: Do What You Love

If you didn’t see my previous post on the Holstee Manifesto (This is your life) please feel free to go check it out.

I’ve been a bit hard on myself behind the scenes of this blog. Mainly because once I launched the official site all those months ago, I wanted to post close to every day. But time, and moving, and life got the best of me. Then, I was committed. I did a flurry of guest posts in November/December and was convinced that I was now going to *write*.

Oh, I had glorious intentions, and a notebook full of post ideas.

None of them really manifested.

One of the biggest problems was this phrase – “Do what you love.” I think when many of us read this, we think automatically about doing what we hate. Because we live in a high-intensity and moderately obligated culture, we assume that life is going to be filled with doing things that we don’t care for. We have to maintain our lifestyle or our perceived worldview.

But there is inherent value in doing things that we do not love.

I do *not* love working out or exercising.

But those activities have value independent of my love for them. What I have to remember is that by participating in these activities, I am setting myself free for a lifetime of pursuing those things that I really love.

It’s a counter-cultural act of the will. I have been told by society (credit card companies and advertisers, let’s be honest) that wanting something now translates into instant gratification. But now I choose to wait. To forgo the immediate pleasure (say of eating chocolate or sitting on my kiester watching the telly) in order to pursue the greater joy.

What do I really love?

That becomes the question, doesn’t it? Because when I’m willing to identify the thing (or things, because I’m richly diverse) that I *truly* love, it becomes easier to do the things that I don’t love as much.

But no, Katie. WHAT do you love?

I learned that I don’t actually – at the core of my being – love blogging. I love writing, I love reflecting, and I love story-telling. But I don’t love blogging. I see it as a necessity, as I gather a group of people who understand me, want to participate in life with me and come alongside me in my journey.

But I don’t love it.

I love seeing people’s dreams come alive (including mine). I love caring deeply for people – like the couple I met today looking for a couch for our new home. I love seeing people get excited talking about things that mean something to them. I love helping people understand that the Creator loves them with a fierce, irrefutable and incontrovertible love. I love showing people that I believe in them and then encouraging them to fly.

And I haven’t been able to translate that to blogging. I can translate it to coffee. I can translate it even to shopping for couches.

But this space hasn’t found its heart yet. My dreams here aren’t alive yet.

So bear with me as I learn to do what I love. Bear with me as I feel awkward and uncomfortable and try to translate that to this space in a way that honors all of us.

What do you love – deep down, truly at the bottom of your heart?

What do you do because it’s a means to help you do those things you love?