i.d

“He who reigns within himself and rules his passions, desires, and fears is more than a king.” – John Milton.

Passion can be seen as a quality of life that hinders an individual’s perception of right and wrong, judgment and ideals. It blinds us from our own intelligence and wisdom, and rather it uses our hearts as a guide to live our life. It is as much a weakness as it is a strength which drives us by the use of our emotions and our desires, rather than our judgment. It can be seen as a link and as a bind towards what we are searching and desiring for. It transforms us in such a way that we are forced without notice to fight for an object of our desire without the lack of knowledge regarding our consequences. Ironically, most people see this passion, this burning desire within them as a strength. The reason for this is the very same reason that many people find passion for weakness. By blocking and by ignoring consequence, and better knowing, we are able to pursue without hindrance. It is often believed that ignorance is bliss, with passion ignorance is merely ignored. I have seen people filled with this passion; a desire for someone they love, a desire for an opportunity, and a passion for their faith. Whatever it be, passion is what allows our hearts to speak and to lead us. It is our strength and it is the very symbol of humanity, to blindly go where no one has gone before.
I firmly believe that to have fought the good fight regardless of victory is far better than to walk wondering what if. Two words in the English dictionary that when put together create one of humanities greatest fears. What if. To be led by passion, means to be led through darkness and through fear, because once through you will not have regret, you may not have joy, but you will have pride and you will have content. Do not let oppurtunities go to waste, because they only come so often.
Therefore, as a result of this I hope that I may be filled with this passion. In whichever regard and object of affection it is, I hope that I will blindly go. That without thinking of consequences, of failure, I will find in myself the passion needed to pursue the impossible, to take that leap of faith and fight for what I love. In doing so I will ignore the consequences, the obstacles and the chance of failure. I will risk everything that I have for what I love, and with every fiber in my body, I will move toward and crawl toward that objective, because it is by hope that leads my spirit and passion that leads my heart and body.

“We accept the verdict of the past until the need for change cries out loudly enough to force upon us a choice between the comforts of further inertia and the irksomeness of action.” - Judge Learned Hand

Change is a scary thing. Sometimes we want things to remain the same because we see life as being safe, secure. However, we sometimes look towards change in order for life to evolve into greater things, and in doing so we realize the risks of losing those that are safe to us. The safe things that I am referring to are the objects in our lives that we feel will constantly be there and will forever remain as our rock and our defence. Consequently, it is in the pursuit of greater ambitions where we sometimes need to drop our guard and take the offensive and in doing so we lose that rock and support. Many individuals feel that in the present time of their life, it is perfect, that there is no need to change. The idea of overcoming obstacles and the need to change one’s way of life seems foolish and undesirable. However, we all have this whisper and a certain aspiration in need to evolve that we hear within us. It is a whisper that voices us to have a new start, even if we are satisfied with the way things are currently, it is a voice that leads us toward the next phase of life.

Personally, I feel as if I have forever been caged in this tight knit safe world that has been created for me by those who are important to me, and in doing so I have stayed frozen in time. The worst thing that I have come to realize in life is for a person to become “comfortable.” Comfortable is place where one is lazy and where one is tired and most of all, where one is safe. I have been comfortable for most of my life and I have just come to realize that. Therefore I propose for change. I remember one time when I was walking home with two of my friends last year in the dead of winter, and as we were walking a homeless man approached us asking for change. As I reached into my pockets looking for change, my friend without even thinking hands him a $20 bill. As I saw this I was awestruck, I was completely shocked because I couldn’t believe the hospitality of my friend. As a student I realize that we are not rich, and that $20 is a lot of money, therefore I couldn’t believe what I saw. As I was standing there, my other friend takes off his own gloves and asks him if his hands are cold, at this time the homeless man who was probably as shocked as I was quickly declined the offer and walked away. I mean this was insane, without a doubt in mind my friend offered $20 without even the slightest hint of hesitation. I am not saying that we should all be inclined to go around town offering $20 to homeless people, however, what I am saying is that in that moment of time, I realized who I was and who I could be. I saw the difference and it frightened me. I saw my life as it was presently, the ignorance, the laziness, the foolishness. I saw my priorities and my values as being so childish and so basic. Before we encountered that homeless man, I was satisfied for the most part with who I was, I was comfortable and even proud of myself. Yet, after this occurred I couldn’t believe who I was. It wasn’t so much that I began to hate myself, but rather I saw an image of who I could be. I saw the life of another that seemed so much more than mine. His generosity, his complete way of life seemed so more evolved. I mean I was standing there proud because I was going to give him $2 yet I saw the sacrifice and the values of this individual and I felt ashamed. Therefore I propose for change.

I mean, I’m still not really sure what it takes to change, but I guess I have come to the understanding that in order to grasp new things, we need to let go of some of the old. Therefore I hope that I have enough strength to let go of the things I love in order to attain the things I dream of.

Margaret Weis believed that, “"Hope is the denial of reality." It is the pursuit for something that we believe has value, yet consequently in the end we being faced with reality can never attain that object of pursuit, we fail. Yet, again and again, we live by this senseless drive toward an expectation or a goal that we cannot meet. We are filled with this sense of optimism that leads men and women to dare to dream, a dream that encourages us to constantly attempt and to forge on, regardless of the impossible nature of the task and ignoring the continuous failures of the past. Therefore why do we not simply give up? Is it really worth it, to get our hopes up yet knowing the hurt of crashing down on reality? And finally, where does this hope, this dream come from? I believe that the pursuit toward that endless dream is driven by a passion that is innate in us. We are led to hope and to pursue the impossible simply because it is impossible. Therefore we are led to idolize the very things that are forbidden and unattainable from us. We want what we simply cannot have. Yet another factor or term of hope is faith. Faith is a belief in God where the things that we need and the things that God believes is right for our life will be provided. Where as Christians we all follow a path, a way of life that is paved by God and he himself sees the things we need and those we do not. I have met incredible people filled with faith and passion in believing that God will heal and that God will provide. An old teacher of mine who I recently visited was found sick with Cancer. She is a strong and passionate woman that is filled with an incredible faith in God. She believes that she will endure that God will save her. When I see her current condition, I question how can a woman that faces such harsh realities have faith and hope? To be faced with such overwhelming odds and to feel so much pain yet, still have the sense to believe? Then I realize that in a state of this condition, hope is all we have. That in the midst of failure and in enduring situations we can only be driven to faith, to hope. Therefore I am simply saying that hope is not a weakness, but rather it is a strength. To live by faith is to live knowing that there are better days and that our future regardless of current problems exists with a brighter future lit by a paved path.