Paschō

As I draw nearer to graduation and my inevitable induction into the "real world" shortly thereafter, I find myself (as I'm sure many do) questioning. I question whether or not the path I am choosing is the right one for me, if perhaps there is something, somewhere better for me out there. I suppose the question becomes: what is my passion?

When someone says that they are passionate about something, or someone, what does that mean? Armed with this question both for myself and others, I did some research.

The first place I went to look was the dictionary. The best definition I could find for the word 'passion' was " a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything." That sounds nice, and could work, but when one ponders his or her true passion in life, words and definitions such as this just seem not to do it justice. So as I scanned the page further in search of a better listing I found this: " the narrative of Christ's sufferings as recorded in the Gospels."

Think about it. Why would a word for intense fondness and enthusiasm be viewed as equal to the horrific torture of the savior of the world? I did some more digging. It turns out that the root word for our English word 'passion' is the Greek word paschō. This word is a verb. It means "to suffer."

Did you get that? Passion...is a verb. One has to find the one thing that he is willing to suffer for, and DO it. Look at the passion of Christ. For what thing or person do you have that much love for that you would suffer for it to the point of death? Maybe this seems extreme. Maybe it is extreme for our society today. But I don't think that makes this any less true.

After I started writing this blog, a close friend of mine informed me that he had read it. The conversation went like this:

--I read your blog...
----Awesome, what did you think?
--I liked it, but there was a little too much religion and religious angles for me.
----Did that make you uncomfortable?
--Kind of...
----Good, then I did my job.

To the point, I suppose the way I see it is that if you have a passion, don't let anyone tell you that it's wrong or not cool; don't let them tell you to stop because it may upset some people. One of my favorite quotes says "You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in all of us." (emphasis mine)

However you see fit to do this, do it. But remember: make your passion a verb. Make your love action. Make your lives extraordinary.

Carpe diem my friends, may this year be the most amazing of your lives. And, as always, Que Dios Les Bendiga...God bless. -Matt

O Me! O Life!

It's been quite some time since I last wrote on this bloggy thingy.

I have in the many days since I began writing this blog heard from many people that they dislike blogs. When I ask them why, most of the time I get an answer about who-cares-about-your-life-or-your-opinions-enough-to-read-them or something of that sort. This is perfectly valid. I don't write as though I expect people to care about my thoughts or opinions. But this does beg the question; why does anyone write?

In asking this question, the responses (as one would imagine) vary greatly. Some write because it helps them. Some write because it helps others. Some write to educate others. Some write just to prove that they think.

The way I see it, we all want to prove that we exist at all. Look at some of the pictures on the walls at your grandmother's house. Save the age of the photos and the perhaps less-than-desiring clothing options they exhibited, how are those people any different from the ones on your facebook homepage?

They're not.

The people in those pictures all have smiles on their faces, frozen in an instant on an infinite timeline. The people in those pictures all have something or someone on their minds at that moment, things they have to do tomorrow or the next day, a person they wronged that day, a worry, a day they are looking forward to, a moment that they are dreading in the future. The difference is this: they are now old, or even no longer on this earth at all.

So what did they leave behind? What did they teach the world? Anything? Nothing?

It is out of both the selfish need to last forever and the overwhelming responsibility to pass on whatever we can to posterity that we write.

I write, just as those before me have, to show that no matter what befalls you, no matter what you think you can never overcome, someone has done it, seen it, lived it before. I write to prove we're not crazy. Mistakes are made, and the sun still rises. Love comes, it is amazing, and it dies, and it is the worst pain you will ever feel. The funny thing is, we've been writing for thousands of years, and feeling the same feelings. You'd think we would run out of things to say. Why haven't we? Because everyone sees it his or her own way. So next time you feel something, hear something, think something, anything...write it down.

One of the best examples of why you should is from the great Walt Whitman. Read this, think about it....then contribute your own verse. :) -Que Dios Les Bendiga (God Bless)

--O ME! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;	5
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer. That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

-Walt Whitman


Night world. -Matt