The Present Moment Crossroad and Positive Passion

Dr. Pinkie Feinstein, The Psycho-Creative Institute, Israel
The Psycho-Creative Journal Volume 5 Article 1, July 2026

Abstract

The importance of being connected to the “here and now” is widely recognized across many psychological, contemplative, and therapeutic traditions. Yet the question of how individuals can strengthen their connection to the present moment remains less clearly understood. This article introduces the psycho-creative concept of the present moment crossroads, an ongoing human challenge that exists within every moment of life. The present moment crossroads is defined as the point at which individuals continuously make choices regarding their relationship to their emotions, desires, fears, possibilities, and direction of growth.

From a psycho-creative perspective, hidden within every present moment crossroads is a central question: What is my positive passion asking of me right now? Positive passion is presented not merely as a source of pleasure or motivation but as an inner developmental guidance system that directs individuals toward growth, learning, creativity, transformation, and greater psychological balance. The article proposes that the quality of a person’s relationship with positive passion significantly influences their ability to recognize and engage with the present moment crossroads.

The article further explores the distinction between responding to positive passion and suppressing it. While engagement with positive passion tends to expand psychological vitality, flexibility, creativity, and possibility, its repeated suppression may contribute to a gradual contraction of life experience. Within this framework, anxiety, depression, and addiction are examined as potential consequences of a disrupted relationship with positive passion and with the present moment crossroads itself.

Finally, the article presents the restoration of the capacity to desire as a central psycho-creative process of healing and development. Strengthening the connection to positive passion is viewed as a way of strengthening the connection to the present moment, where growth, transformation, and meaningful choice continuously unfold. The present moment crossroads is therefore presented not as a test of perfection but as an ongoing invitation to participate in life through the principle of doing one’s best to respond to positive passion in the present moment.

The Present Moment Crossroad

The psycho-creative approach proposes that human beings live within a continuous series of present moment crossroads. Although most people are not fully aware of them, these crossroads accompany nearly every aspect of life. They are not limited to major life decisions but are woven into ordinary moments.

Many people experience life as though it is primarily shaped by external circumstances. Work demands, family obligations, financial pressures, social expectations, and unexpected events often create the impression that life is happening to them. While these factors undoubtedly influence human experience, the psycho-creative perspective suggests that another process is taking place simultaneously. Beneath the visible events of life, individuals are constantly making decisions regarding how they will relate to everything they face, both internally and externally.

These decisions are often made automatically. People may not notice that they are repeatedly choosing between engagement and withdrawal, expression and suppression, movement and avoidance. As a result, they may underestimate the degree to which their lives are shaped not only by circumstances but also by their responses to those circumstances. The more hidden these crossroads remain, the more likely individuals are to experience themselves as powerless or trapped within forces beyond their control.

One of the most significant shifts in psychological development occurs when a person begins to recognize the existence of these crossroads. This recognition expands the experience of personal influence. It does not imply unlimited control over life or deny the existence of genuine hardships. Rather, it highlights the fact that even within difficult circumstances there are meaningful choices one can take and through them to make a vital impact on their reality.

The present moment crossroads is therefore more than a psychological concept. It is a way of observing human life. It invites individuals to become more attentive to the small moments that gradually shape larger patterns of living. Significant transformation often begins not through dramatic events but through ordinary decisions and choices that appear insignificant at the time.

The psycho-creative approach also proposes that hidden within every present moment crossroads is a deeper question concerning psychological growth. Individuals are not merely deciding what to do next. They are also deciding whether they will move closer to or further away from the forces that support vitality, creativity, development, and transformation.

The sections that follow explore this idea through the lens of positive passion. They examine the question hidden within the crossroads, the role of positive passion in expanding life, the consequences of suppressing it, its relationship to anxiety, depression, and addiction, and the psycho-creative process of healing the capacity to desire.

The Question Hidden Within the Crossroads

At the center of every present moment crossroads lies a question that most people are rarely taught to recognize. It is not a question about achievement, productivity, status, or success. From a psycho-creative perspective, the deeper question hidden within the crossroads is: What is my positive passion asking of me right now?

This question appears continuously throughout life, often in subtle ways. It may emerge as curiosity, a desire to create, an impulse to experience, learn, explore, contribute, connect, disconnect, express, or change something. Sometimes it appears as excitement, enthusiasm, inspiration, or a quiet feeling that something matters. Sometimes they are subtler and require more sensitive attention. Although these experiences differ in intensity, they often point toward the same underlying phenomenon: the presence of positive passion.

Many people assume that passion is dramatic, rare, or reserved for a fortunate few. The psycho-creative perspective challenges this assumption. Positive passion often appears through small signals rather than grand revelations. It may be present in a simple desire to learn a skill, start a conversation, solve a problem, help another person, engage in some experience, disengage from something that is no longer rewarding, or take a small step toward something meaningful. Positive passion can take endless forms, yet all point into some change and felt like s a kind of a guiding impulse.

The difficulty is usually not the absence of passion but the loss of connection to it. From an early age, many people learn to prioritize external expectations over inner experience. They become skilled at recognizing what they should do while becoming less skilled at recognizing what genuinely inspires them. Fear often reinforces this process. Because passion frequently points toward uncertainty and change, individuals may learn to question or suppress it before it has an opportunity to develop.

The psycho-creative approach suggests that one of the most important developmental tasks is learning to hear the question hidden within the crossroads before immediately judging the answer. Positive passion does not require certainty or perfection. It simply asks for recognition and response.

When people lose contact with this question, life may continue to function outwardly while something essential becomes muted. They may perform their roles effectively yet feel disconnected from enthusiasm, inspiration, and genuine engagement. In such situations, the problem may not be a lack of ability or opportunity but the loss of connection to positive passion itself.

Growth begins when individuals learn to pause and become curious about the desires already present within them. The goal is not to follow every impulse but to restore a relationship with positive passion so that it can once again participate in shaping the direction of life. This relationship forms the foundation for psychological vitality and growth and leads directly to the next question: what happens when people respond to positive passion?

 

Positive Passion and the Expansion of Life

When individuals respond to positive passion, they activate a psychological process that extends beyond the immediate activity itself. From a psycho-creative perspective, positive passion is not merely a pleasant emotion or a source of enjoyment. It is an unconscious signal toward growth, development, transformation and balance. It is regarded as an inner intuitive guidance in which the common logic cannot fully assess its validity.

This inner guidance delivers a clear invitation: here is the recommended path. All you are required is to do your best in following this path, anyway you choose or like will do the work. Go ahead and experience this path any way you choose.

One of the most important characteristics of positive passion is its ability to generate energy. Many people assume that energy must come first and that passion follows. The psycho-creative perspective often suggests the opposite. Individuals who repeatedly move toward what genuinely interests, excites, or inspires them frequently discover that motivation, vitality, and momentum begin to increase naturally.

Positive passion also strengthens psychological flexibility. When people are engaged with something that genuinely matters to them, they often become more willing to tolerate obstacles, uncertainty, and temporary setbacks. Difficulties do not disappear, but they are experienced differently. Challenges become part of a meaningful process rather than evidence that the journey should be abandoned. As a result, individuals become more capable of adapting, learning, improvising, and continuing despite imperfections.

Another important contribution of positive passion is its relationship to creativity. The psycho-creative approach views creativity as a natural human capacity that becomes more accessible when individuals are connected to what genuinely inspires them. Passion encourages exploration, exploration generates new perspectives, and new perspectives create opportunities for innovation, problem-solving, and transformation. In this sense, creativity and passion often strengthen one another.

Positive passion also expands a person’s sense of possibility. When individuals repeatedly act in response to meaningful desires, they begin to discover abilities, interests, opportunities, and directions that may previously have remained hidden. What initially appears to be a small step can become the starting point for significant personal development.

Importantly, positive passion does not guarantee comfort or certainty. It often leads individuals into unfamiliar territory that requires experimentation, learning, mistakes, and adjustment. Yet these experiences are frequently part of the expansion process itself. Growth rarely occurs without uncertainty, and the willingness to continue moving despite uncertainty is often one of the clearest signs that positive passion is active.

From a psycho-creative perspective, positive passion serves as a bridge between the present and the future. It motivates action in the present while creating conditions for future development. For this reason, the present moment crossroads is often a choice between expansion and contraction. When individuals repeatedly respond to positive passion, life tends to become richer, more creative, more flexible, and more dynamic. When positive passion is repeatedly ignored or suppressed, the opposite process may begin to unfold. Understanding this process of contraction is the focus of the next section.

The Refusal of Passion and the Contraction of Life

If positive passion contributes to the expansion of life, its repeated refusal often contributes to the opposite process. From a psycho-creative perspective, one of the most significant psychological challenges is not the absence of passion but the repeated decision, often unconscious, not to respond to it. This decision rarely appears dramatic. Rather, it unfolds through countless small moments in which individuals ignore desires to create, learn, explore, express themselves, change, question their reality, reconsider ongoing non-rewarding habits, connect with others, or move toward something meaningful.

When these moments become habitual, a larger pattern begins to emerge. Positive passion naturally directs attention toward possibilities, growth, and transformation. When it is repeatedly ignored, attention shifts toward limitations, risks, obligations, and reasons not to act. Over time, life may begin to feel smaller, not necessarily because opportunities have disappeared, but because the individual’s relationship with possibility has weakened.

This process also affects the experience of personal agency. As positive passion is repeatedly suppressed, the present moment crossroads becomes less visible. Individuals may gradually lose contact with the choices available to them and begin to experience life less as a process of participation and more as a process of endurance. Feelings of helplessness and resignation may increase as a result.

Another consequence is the reduction of psychological vitality. Positive passion helps activate curiosity, creativity, meaning, and engagement with life. When it is suppressed for extended periods, individuals often feel disconnected from enthusiasm, inspiration, and genuine involvement. Life may continue to function externally, yet internally something feels diminished.

Importantly, passion does not simply disappear when it is ignored. Suppressed desires often remain active beneath the surface and may appear indirectly through frustration, dissatisfaction, restlessness, or a persistent feeling that something important is missing. The refusal of passion therefore creates an ongoing tension between the individual’s natural developmental impulses and the patterns that restrict them.

Fear is often at the center of this process. Positive passion frequently points toward uncertainty, change, and vulnerability. Individuals may fear failure, rejection, criticism, disappointment, or simply the unknown. Others may have learned to view their desires as unrealistic, irresponsible, or unimportant. Whatever the source, the result is often similar: a growing distance from the very forces that support vitality and growth.

Over time, this disconnection can become normalized. People may come to view the absence of enthusiasm, creativity, or engagement as an ordinary part of life. What appears to be a lack of motivation may in fact reflect a long-standing disconnection from positive passion.

The present moment crossroads therefore contains more than a choice about a specific action. It also contains a choice about the future relationship between the individual and their capacity for growth. Every time positive passion is acknowledged, this relationship tends to strengthen. Every time it is repeatedly denied, it tends to weaken. The cumulative effects of this process may contribute to experiences such as anxiety, depression, and addiction, which will be explored in the next section.

Anxiety, Depression, and Addiction

From a psycho-creative perspective, anxiety, depression, and addiction are complex experiences influenced by many factors. The psycho-creative approach does not seek to replace existing explanations but proposes an additional perspective: the relationship between psychological suffering and the long-term suppression of positive passion.

Anxiety can often be understood as a consequence of the conflict between desire and avoidance. Individuals may sense an impulse toward growth, expression, change, or action while simultaneously feeling afraid to move in that direction. One part of the person is drawn toward expansion, while another is drawn toward protection and withdrawal. When this conflict persists, the individual repeatedly encounters present moment crossroads without responding to the desires that emerge within them. Anxiety may therefore reflect the emotional experience of being called toward growth while repeatedly avoiding the movement that growth requires.

Depression may represent a different stage of the same process. If anxiety reflects tension between passion and avoidance, depression may reflect the prolonged suppression of passion itself. The psycho-creative approach proposes that depression is, to a significant extent, a consequence of the suppression of positive passion. When the desire to create, explore, connect, contribute, learn, or grow is repeatedly ignored or blocked, individuals gradually lose access to an important source of psychological vitality. Life may begin to feel flat, repetitive, meaningless, or emotionally depleted.

This perspective does not suggest that all depression is caused by suppressed passion. Rather, it highlights a relationship that is often overlooked. The question is not only what pain is present in a person’s life, but also what passions have been neglected, abandoned, or silenced. In many cases, psychological healing may require attention not only to suffering but also to the restoration of desire.

Addiction represents another possible response to the loss of connection with positive passion. Human beings naturally seek aliveness, stimulation, pleasure, meaning, and emotional movement. When positive passion is suppressed, these needs do not disappear. Instead, individuals may seek substitute sources of activation through substances, compulsive behaviors, excessive consumption, or other forms of dependency. In all forms of addiction the opposite of the positive passion – the negative passion tends to dominate on the expense of the neglected positive one.

From a psycho-creative perspective, addiction can be understood as a form of displaced passion. The individual continues searching for vitality and emotional activation, yet the search becomes disconnected from the developmental forces that support growth and transformation. What begins as an attempt to feel better may gradually become a cycle that further weakens the relationship with positive passion.

Viewed together, anxiety, depression, and addiction may represent different expressions of a similar underlying problem: a disrupted relationship between the individual and their capacity to desire, pursue, and express positive passion. Anxiety reflects the tension surrounding that relationship. Depression reflects its prolonged suppression. Addiction reflects attempts to replace it.

Also, when anxiety, depression and addiction are dominant, the ability to connect to the present moment of crossroad, in which the question of passion is asked, is impaired because most attention is diverted to the emotional drama instead to the silent unconscious guiding for healing, transformation and growth.

The viscous cycle that is formed, this way, is made of emotional drama that intensifies fear from attending the challenging present moment crossroad, followed by avoidance of the positive passion that only further fuels the emotional drama.

For this reason, the restoration of the connection with the positive passion occupies a central place within the psycho-creative approach. The goal is not merely to reduce symptoms but to strengthen the individual’s relationship to the forces that naturally support vitality, creativity, engagement, and development. The next section explores the psycho-creative process of healing the capacity to desire.

Healing the Capacity to Desire

From a psycho-creative perspective, one of the most important goals of psychological growth is the restoration of the capacity to desire. While positive passion is a natural human capacity, the ability to remain connected to it is not guaranteed. Like many healthy psychological capacities, it can be strengthened, weakened, neglected, or restored.

While the present moment crossroad is regarded as the place where inner guidance is available for growth, healing and transformation, as long as the capacity to desire is restricted, the connection to the present moment is also impaired. This is way we view the process of healing capacity to desire imperative for improving connection to the present moment.

Many individuals lose contact with positive passion long before they become aware that this process is occurring. Cultural, educational, familial, and psychological influences often encourage caution toward desire. People may learn that passion is unrealistic, irresponsible, selfish, or incompatible with adult life. Over time, they become increasingly skilled at evaluating, criticizing, and suppressing their desires rather than listening to them.

The psycho-creative approach views this situation not as a failure of character but as a developmental challenge. The problem is rarely the absence of passion itself. More often, layers of fear, self-criticism, doubt, shame, disappointment, cultural trends, social pressure and conditioning have accumulated around it. Positive passion remains present, yet access to it has become restricted. Healing therefore does not require creating passion. It requires removing the obstacles that interfere with recognizing and trusting what is already there.

This perspective shifts the focus of psychological healing. Rather than asking only what is wrong, the psycho-creative approach also asks what healthy force is being restricted. In the case of positive passion, healing involves learning to notice positive desire, acknowledge it, give it legitimacy, and gradually respond to it.

An important aspect of this process is developing a greater tolerance for uncertainty. Positive passion frequently points toward experiences that cannot be fully predicted or controlled. Reconnecting with desire therefore requires a willingness to move forward without guarantees. Likewise, it requires a different relationship with failure. Positive passion is not validated only by success. Its value is also found in movement, trials and errors, exploration, learning, and participation.

The healing of desire often begins not with dramatic revelations but with small signals. A desire to learn something new, create something small, reconnect with an abandoned interest, or explore a new possibility may represent meaningful expressions of positive passion. Also the sense of being excited with certain engagement or experience may signify the direction of the healthy passion. As individuals learn to trust these signals, they often experience greater vitality, creativity, flexibility, and engagement with life.

All positive passion signals are “located,” emotionally in one specific point: the present moment. They are evident, always, in the “now.” Therefore, their healing is always associated with improving the ability to spend more time and awareness to the crossroad of the present moment, both as a place where you can listen more carefully to the inner guidance presented by passion, as well as through the joy and excitement of the realization of desires, that always strengthen the sense of being in the “now.”

The psycho-creative approach therefore views the healing of desire as much more than a strategy for reducing suffering. It is a developmental process that strengthens the individual’s relationship with life itself. By restoring the ability to recognize and respond to positive passion, people regain access to one of the most important sources of growth, vitality, creativity, and transformation available to them, while restoring their connection to their crossroad of present moment, where they can learn to make their better choices more frequently.

The Present Moment as an Ongoing Invitation

From a psycho-creative perspective, the present moment is far more than a point in time separating the past from the future. It is an active psychological space in which development continuously unfolds. Every moment contains choices, possibilities, desires, fears, and opportunities for movement. Whether individuals recognize it or not, they are constantly encountering present moment crossroads that influence the direction of their lives.

One of the central ideas of this article is that these crossroads are often hidden within ordinary moments. While people tend to associate important decisions with major life events, many of the choices that shape development occur through everyday responses. The decision to listen or not listen to a desire, to move forward or remain where one is, may appear insignificant at the time. Yet these repeated responses gradually shape the larger trajectory of life.

Throughout this article, positive passion has been presented as one of the most important forces operating within the present moment crossroads. It functions as a developmental compass, directing individuals toward growth, creativity, learning, exploration, contribution, and transformation. When people learn to recognize and respond to positive passion, they strengthen their relationship with these life-enhancing processes. When they repeatedly suppress it, life often becomes more restricted, disconnected, and psychologically burdensome.

The article has also proposed that anxiety, depression, and addiction can be understood, at least in part, through the lens of the present moment crossroads. Anxiety may emerge from the tension between desire and avoidance. Depression may reflect the prolonged suppression of positive passion. Addiction may represent an attempt to replace the vitality that positive passion naturally provides. While these experiences are complex and influenced by many factors, the psycho-creative perspective highlights the importance of restoring the individual’s relationship with desire.

At the same time, the present moment crossroads should not be understood as a demand for perfection. Growth does not depend on making the right decision at every crossroads but on the decision to do the best you can to follow your desire considering your resources and limitations. The goal is not perfection but participation. The “good enough principle” in “doing your best following your passion” is all that is needed for growth, healing and transformation through the crossroad of the present moment.

For this reason, the present moment crossroads can be understood as an ongoing invitation rather than a test. It is an invitation to become more aware of the choices already present within life, to strengthen the relationship with positive passion, and to participate more actively in the process of growth and transformation through putting the effort possible to realize the passion.

From a psycho-creative perspective, human development is an ongoing dialogue between the individual and the possibilities contained within each present moment. The more individuals learn to recognize these crossroads and respond to them, the more they strengthen their capacity to create lives that are meaningful, vibrant, and continuously evolving.

References

Feinstein, P. (2025). Addiction to problems: The psycho-creative perspective. The Psycho-Creative Journal, 1(5).

Feinstein, P. (2026) The Positive Unconscious: Expanding Freud’s Concept Through the Psycho-Creative Perspective. The Psycho-Creative Journal, 3(4).

Feinstein, P. Dana, A. (2026) Passion as Talent: Reframing Artistic Ability for Human Growth Through Intuitive Painting. The Psycho-Creative Journal, 4(1).

Feinstein, P. (2026). The Journey to Healing Passion. The Psycho-Creative Press