Are You Living It?

We’re thrilled to publish the following essay by guest contributor Kris Keim, Marketing Director for U.S. Women’s Cycling Development Program. Great stuff:

Life is full of many roads which will lead us onto happy and sad trails throughout our lives.  I’ve compiled a group of personal essays from amazing women whom I’m honored to call not only dear friends but women I look up to for guidance and support.  I asked each of them to explain what living life with passion meant for them and how they go about this great task on a daily basis… enjoy.

“What does it mean to have a PASSION? For some people I think it refers to the feeling of losing yourself or letting go while doing something you love. For others passion is the driving force to unleashing a powerful energy from within. This energy can propel you into exciting new activities and directions in your life. I heard about this movie the other day. A surfer movie. The surfers in the movie were going out to take on 40 to 60 foot waves. If you have ever surfed a 4 foot wave..you can understand the magnitude of this endeavor. A friend pointed out to me, that every time they went out there, they were taking a 50/50 chance, of life or death. Literally. But they did not care. Some people may think they are stupid, others understand that surfing is their PASSION. And they are so passionate about making that wave, that they are willing to take the risk. THIS IS PASSION…….and only if you have ever felt that way about something can you understand it. Often when we daydream we are thinking about our passions. What do you daydream about? Unfortunately many people in this world experience little passion. They have lost the ability to be passionate about something or someone. This can happen for many reasons including the way we were raised, our self esteem and the importance we place on personal joy and fulfillment as well as our fear of what others may think of us.

How many people do you know who do what “makes them happy” as opposed to “more important things” like a real 9-5 job that they do not enjoy? Why is it that many people feel you can’t do both? Are we not allowed to love what we do? Many people will say to someone who is living their dream or passion “you had better go to university to make sure you have something to fall back on.” But what if what you are passionate about can become what you do? What if you can make money doing it? Why do we try to stop people who are driving forward with their passions to make sure they stop and get serious? Those people with true passion will make their passion their job, they will find a way. Because they feel that passionate about it. Why would you spend your whole life doing a job that does not reflect at all who you really believe you are?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting for a second that education is not a good idea!  5 years of school later I am very happy with my decision to go to school. But I love school. I am passionate about studying topics that I care about. Like fitness and nutrition. And I want you to be passionate about what you study if you are going to spend all the time and money on school. Don’t go just because….go because it lights a spark in your heart….you feel driven, and inspired to go. We need to rediscover our passions and if we are not going to engulf them 100 percent we need to incorporate them into our lives somehow. By doing this we become happier and more passionate about all aspects of life, even that job that may not light our fires! Suddenly we just have more positive energy.”

~Anne Guzman, 33

Cat 1 Cyclist for Team Kenda Tires. Registered Holistic Nutritionist. Honors Degree in Kinesiology
Carlisle, Ontario, Canada

“I am passionate about or pursue with passion anything that makes me happy or brings me happiness. It’s really simple actually. If something doesn’t bring me happiness, I’m not passionate about it. Happiness can be as simple as an evening spent with family, adventures with friends, a beautiful day on the slopes, the perfect bar of chocolate…etc… What drives me, what ignites my inner passion, is my happiness.”

~Lara Kroepsch, 29

Cyclist for Value-Act Professional Women’s Team. College graduated. Colorado native. Big sister. Loving daughter. Adrenaline junkie!

“Sometimes it hard to live life with passion. You get tired, worn out, just sick of everything being so dang hard all the time!! But I swear, every time I look up at those Flat Irons, whether they’re covered with snow, or gleaming in the sun during a hot summer day, I am re-invigorated with a sense of purpose, for the reason I’m here. I try to put everything of myself into what I do, whether its my cycling, school, teaching, etc. I think that spreads, to other people- they see that and it kind of wakes them up to the world.
And we are SO LUCKY to be cyclists, and to experience the things we get to, travel the places we do. I love learning about other people’s experiences-learning is a huge part of being passionate I think, because without knowledge, and that never-ending curiosity for the world, how could we ever be excited about life? Life is too magical to just let slip by, living only half-heatedly. So I choose to make the most of every day, to feed my body with the sun, the forest, and the dirty-single track I am privileged to ride my bike on. I am devoted to that sense of one-ness with nature- it is my escape, my temple, and my rock that grounds me when life gets a little crazy.”

~Caitlyn Tuel, 23
Trek VW Rocky Mountain Racing. Pro Cross Country MTB. Boulder, CO.  full time student at CU, part-time Humane Education teacher at Humane Society of Boulder Valley.

“Passion is defined as, “an intense, driving feeling or conviction; a strong liking or desire for, or devotion to, some activity, object, or concept.  It is something of deep interest and fondness to us.”

“When you wake, take the morning’s first breath and ready to throw your feet out of bed and onto the floor, what drives it?  What calls to you, makes your eyes open and your heart beat?
The morning’s first step; is it simply routine, a commitment, or is it fueled by a passion?

In my life, albeit short thus far, I’ve been pulled in a million directions.  Where is my heart?  What do I want to DO with my LIFE?  Day by day goes on, I struggle with the question.  Yet each day I step out of bed with conviction, hoping to learn something new or step in the right direction.  I hope to learn where the body and mind can go, where fitness and dedication can take you, where love and friends will guide you.

And what happens before the morning’s first step?  We dream.  We dream the dreams that figuratively and literally allow us to make the first step, to devout our breath to an intense desire, a love, a passion. A passion for life, a devotion to the mind, body and soul, the intense interest and desire for insight to the heart and the world.”

~Megan Monroe, 27

Dale’s Pale Ale/Spot Brand MTB Team. Water Quality field specialist. Working on MS in Environmental Engineering at Colorado School of Mines

“How do you live your life with passion?  It is the passion for life that drives me each day!

I’m passionate about riding and racing my bike. I’m passionate about creating opportunities for women to learn about and excel in cycling and racing. I’m passionate about animals and how they can help people. I’m passionate about building my business and doing great work.

I guess the way I live these things is making them a priority in my life, and doing them even when I don’t really have time or I don’t want to (like some of those trainer workouts!). It seems to be all about priorities…sometimes work is more important that riding, but sometimes riding helps me come back to work with a fresh perspective.”

~Lee Farabaugh, 31

My favorite quote: “the extra mile is seldom crowded.” Cat 1 Road cyclists for Team Kenda Tires. Birmingham, AL. balance full-time work as a partner in a software development firm.

Hope their wisdom has opened your eyes to the amazing world we live in and the wonderful people who make up this earth.  All I can say is that in order to truly live life with passion- one must open their heart, lean over the cliff and take the leap…

~Kris Keim, 27

U.S. Women’s Cycling Development Program/ MissingSaddle.com Marketing Director. Team Kenda Tires. Boulder, CO. Southern gal at heart