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