This is the tag line from a 2006 documentary that I watched this week called Darkon. It is about a group of people in the Baltimore/ Washington area that gather every other Sunday (150-300 people) in medieval fantasy costumes and armor. They fight unchoreographed mock battles with padded weapons. What I liked about the movie was that these people have found a passion in their lives through Darkon. When Brett Farmiloe started the Pursue the Passion Tour which I helped sponsor many years ago, he traveled around the country asking people what drove their passion. He found that “half the American work force is not satisfied with their job, and only a fifth apply a passion towards their career.”
Some people do not have the luxury to be passionate about what they do for work. They work in order to meet their financial obligations. This is fact that we don’t want to recognize. They need to find passion in other parts of their lives. Fortunately, this is exactly what the members of Darkon have found. They have found a way to channel their energies, their passions and desires into an “additional life”. At first, it may seem strange to watch men and women dress up in medieval customes to play out a new role in a fantasy world. But I believe we need to find passion that drives us where ever it is…and who are we to day that “this life”, is any more real than the realm of Darkon?
Hey Barry,
How does a Darkon participant, who is pursuing their passion, address the outsiders? Or does it matter?
For example if I saw those folks, I might chuckle and take pictures. Not that my behavior is right, but want to know how insiders (passion followers) deal with naysayers.