Find and follow your passion
The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna had been on my Amazon wishlist for quite some time before I received it last Christmas. After months of hearing and reading such amazing reviews of the book I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and so, as you could imagine, I was over the moon when I unwrapped it. I devoured it in the next three days, whilst staying at my grandparents for the holiday. I just couldn't put it down, it was even better than I'd imagined.
Wrote in the first person by Elle Luna herself, she takes us through her own experience of wanting to pursue art and finding her own dream space to make it happen. She tells of the differences between 'Should' and 'Must', why these are different to one another and how to figure out which you are living to in your own life. 'Should' revolve's around, well around things people feel they should be doing; ie. going to university or college to get qualifications. On the other hand, the things you feel compelled and drawn to are the 'Musts' in your life. 'Must' is the thing that is so rooted in your being that if you didn't fulfil it, you would feel a little lost or out of sync with yourself. For me, this space is a big part of my 'Must'. I feel the need to write. Whether it's an account of a day out, thoughts on an issue or even just passing on the love of a book -I feel the constant need to write and produce something (even if that means no one is watching or listening on the other end).
extract:
If you believe that you have something special inside of you, and you feel it's about time you gave it a shot, honour that calling in some way - today. If you feel a knot in your stomach because you can see the enormous distance between your dreams and your daily reality, do one thing to tighten your grip on what you want - today. If you've been peering down the road to must but can't quite make the choice, dig a little deeper and find out what's stopping you - today. Because there is a recurring choice in life and it occurs at the intersection of two roads. We arrive at this place again and again.Elle uses not only her own experiences within the book but also others stories of their own crossroads and how they made those steps towards their own 'Musts'. She uses quote, tips, illustrations, pictures and even activities throughout to help the reader come to the conclusion of their own 'should & must' and where to go from there. One of my favourite activities was the obituary one -sounds a little ominous, but bear with me- where she says to write what you want your obituary to say, how do you want to be remembered and what you did with your life. She then gets you to write your obituary following how your life is now, what are you doing and what it will inevitably say if you were to follow your 'should'. The difference is often startling and a real eye-opener when you compare and contrast.
From my own experience and the profound effect the book has had on me, I feel confident in my recommendation of this book to everyone -I quite literally want to talk about the book to everyone I see, much to their disappointment of my choice of conversation. The book as a whole has reiterated my passions and what I want to be doing with my life, regardless of what I 'should' be doing and what is expected from me, from general society. It's encouraged me to follow my heart and give it my all.
Favourite quote:
Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who come alive -Howard Thurman, philosopher
Have you read this book -what did you think? (let me know below)
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