Somebody said to me once a long time ago, “If you want something to live for, then you must find something you are willing to die for.” This happened during a conversation with a Jesuit Priest (I’m not Catholic by the way) named Brother Don Birn. I was about 18 and living away from home for the first time and I was trying to grow up. We all can relate to that effort. I remember that this little bit of philosophy changed my perspective on so many things. I actively engaged my mind to sort out those things that were important enough for me to give my life for.
Several years later I found the thing I would die for. It came in the form of my kids. All three of them could make my heart soft in an instant. I’d watch them playing in a sand box, or pushing a stroller, or playing with blocks and my heart with swell so big I thought it was going to bust. This was my first real discovery concerning love and what it would take to keep and protect it. Thus, it has been the same regarding my kids since that time and will be forever. They have moved on to their own lives but they have become part of my life with no thought of being separated.
Not exactly a horizontal discovery but I eventually found a passion with bodybuilding in my later years. For some crazy reason the “bug” has bitten me. I train and yet it never seems to be enough. I have actually fallen in love with the effort to be better. I have adopted the philosophy that this sport requires my full attention. I’m not so sure I’d die for it but it’s well worth my best effort. I long to be always perfecting my craft. Honing the myriad of skills that it demands.
Just like loving my kids with an everlasting passion, there are some things that that love asks of you. My presence. My money. My home. My attention. My calls. The bottom line is that in order to be passionately happy we have to be engaged with that which we would die for or give our best for. Nothing can change us faster than the revelation of love and passion that asks us for our “All.” Make sure that we passionately love the right people and activities for the right reasons for we may be asked to give all that we have for it.
Learn to love, nurture, and embrace what you love with an eye toward it’s true meaning to you. Be willing to pursue it with all that you are. The reward is for you to attain it and keep it close to your heart.
Six Pack and Senior 