What is Passion?

You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?"

-quoted from the movie “Serendipity”

What is passion? For most people, the word “passion” refers to that something which they can do with utmost fondness, that something which awakens their inner desires to go beyond typical, that something which drives them to forget that they are alive and causes them to go beyond natural. Passion for some is that something which they truly love with supreme sincerity, that something which allows them to wake up in the morning with something to look forward to, and above all, that something which gives them genuine happiness in their lives. Passion is defined by many things to many people. In the next few paragraphs though, I will try to show how passion is something which we cannot completely define. Instead, passion is something which defines.

"You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing."

— Dale Carnegie

A tennis player may consider tennis as the best sport in the world; however Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Mike Tyson may very much disagree. For Michael Jordan, life is about dribbling, passing, shooting, and dunking the basketball with tremendous grace. For Tiger Woods, life is about coordinating with the wind to hit a hole-in-one. For Mike Tyson, life is about striking his arms to the fullest of his strength that he may bring his opponent down as early as possible. Life has different definitions for Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Mike Tyson because of their passions. Their passion for basketball, golf, and boxing respectively, has been defining their lives all these years. Passion defines.

“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.”

- Christian Friedrich Hebbel

Around 40 years ago, there was a boy who was very passionate about computers. As a young boy, he was admitted to Lakeside School in Seattle and there he got hooked to the computer. Within a week’s time as a student in that school, he was able to surpass the knowledge of his teacher. At the age of thirteen, he was able to write his very first computer program. A few years pass by and this boy gets in to Harvard University intending to get a pre-law degree. However, lacking a definite study plan, he eventually dropped out to pursue his passion for computers.

Today, this man is the Chairman of Microsoft, one of the richest persons in the world, and his name is Bill Gates. His passion for the computer has allowed him to reach tremendous heights and in effect define computers in a new way. Passion defines.

“Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

-Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ.

Satan once approached Jesus and said: “Hey man, I just found a whole world of people down there. I’m going to tempt them with something they can never resist. I will have fun with them. I will teach them to break other people’s hearts. I will teach them to become government officials and steal from everyone. I will teach them to hold guns and wage wars against each other. After everything and having fun with them, I guess I’ll just have to kill them.”

To this, Jesus replied: “Satan, how much can I get them from you?”

Satan then said, “But Jesus, why would you want them? They will just kill you, spit on you, curse you, and break your heart!”

“How much for these people?” Jesus asked once again.

To this, Satan just said, “All of your tears, and all of your blood.”

Without hesitation, Jesus replied, “Done.”

Christ was very much passionate about us that he gave up His own life just to save us. He paid the price. His passion for us is the greatest love story that any man could ever know. His passion for us defines who we are – we are sons and daughters of God.

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of “The Little Prince”

What is passion? For most people, the word “passion” refers to that something which they can do with utmost fondness, that something which awakens their inner desires to go beyond typical, that something which drives them to forget that they are alive and causes them to go beyond natural. Passion for some is that something which they truly love with supreme sincerity, that something which allows them to wake up in the morning with something to look forward to, and above all, that something which gives them genuine happiness in their lives. Passion is defined by many things to many people.

I, however, believe that passion cannot be defined in all its brilliance by mere words. Instead, passion defines.

“Tell me what your passion is, and I’ll tell you who you are.”

-John Little Prince