Authentic Happiness

While waiting for my mud-stricken car to get washed and cleaned in a car wash station, I was reading an article in Reader's Digest, "The way to Happiness-by Dianne Hales."
There is one sentence that caught my attention. I found myself reading it over and over again as if reciting a litany of prayer.

"Seligman (PhD) calls authentic happiness: engagement with family, work or a passionate pursuit, and finding meaning from some higher purpose...."

Well, let me see, I am close to my family, which by the way, is one of the things I'm truly proud of. So, on that note, I can say that I am happy. But---not authentically happy if I were to consider the two remaining category.

"work or passionate pursuit"
That strike a nerve of mine. Lately, I have been feeling incomplete. As if there's a hollow hole in my heart, like dropping a silver ball in an endless tunnel.
I have been very busy doing a lot of things, with my work in television production and starting up my business, and regularly going to the gym.
Deadlines here and there.
Phone calls from other offices and agencies.
I am an inch away to mastering the art of multitasking.
But at the end of the day, I don't know what is it that I have accomplished.
I climb the office stairs, knock on other department's door.
I am busy, I am tired, but I know, my mind is not with me.

During quiet times, when I am alone, then, I listen to what's inside me.
Something is missing. Like a piece of a puzzle I can't fit.
I keep on denying myself that silence. But the more i silence it, the louder it gets.
But now I realize, I'm searching for a job that will make me feel fulfilled.
Work, that will make me really, really proud of what I did.
Now I understand, why I am so uneasy and why I am not at peace with myself. Because, I don't feel fulfilled with what I am doing.

Steve Jobs said " struggle to find your passion.."
Boy, I couldn't agree more. It can really be a struggle finding your passion. I might reach my 40th birthday, still not knowing what I am passionate about (I wrote this wishing not to happen).
A magazine "Pursuits and Passion" was published by an insurance company for their anniversary. From cover to cover, it tells stories of people who pursued their passion.
May it be climbing a mountain, running around the country, writing their literature, mixing different coffee beans, and diving with sharks. It might be silly to some, and these passionate people may not offer us a very logical explanation, but in the end-they owe it to themselves. Pursuing your passion.

Robert Kiyosaki in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad defined passion as combination of anger and love.

Now that I was able to distinguish what makes me sad, it's time for me to recognize what makes me angry and what I am soooo in love with... and hopefully, find my soul's passion.