An average life of passion

An average life of passion is what is was. Not average in the sense of mediocre, but average in the sense of an everyday person with an everyday life, lived with extraordinary passion.

This idea of an average life of passion has been noodling around my head for some time now and I’ve struggled to understand its birth. Like so many realizations in life, when you finally figure it out, you feel almost embarrassed that you didn’t see it sooner. I often say, “I’m a slow learner” because it seems everyone else knows their path in life, and I seem to keep getting confused on which way north is.

It’s about living with passion! Sure, those aren’t the words he would have used, but that’s the message that he sent through his actions. Passion is not reserved for the movie screen, martyrs, or saints. It’s there for all of us in so many ways. It’s there in how we love our family and friends, in the causes we are called to serve, in our strive to perform our jobs to the best of our ability; whether we’re a ditch digger or a doctor. Passion is what feeds our soul and it makes everything we touch meaningful. Passion is universal and living with passion is just what he did.

Ironically, he passed away the very day my first column about the “little” moments in time was put into print. I know it is not irony that I discovered on the anniversary of his passing, the birth of this part of myself.

As I carve my own path through life, pushing through the sometimes untamed underbrush and around the boulders that are seemingly blocking my way, I occasionally happen upon a smoother path. Like someone before me had been here and cleared away debris so that my travels might be smoother. It’s during these times that I can stop, look around and see which way I’m really headed; which way the path I’m on is leading me. I can see the path he took; there is a little bit of overgrowth but truth be told, it’s a path that is quietly taken by many. There are other paths too, some with signposts that advertise the comfort and reduced risks I may experience if I journey down them. While these may be enticing, I know there are no great vistas, no passion for me on these roads.

I choose the path that fulfills my passion. I do so not with a scream of excitement, but with a smile; not with a bravado of courage, but with determination, not with complacency, but with the simple passion of an average man. After all, average is just what most people are doing and most do live their lives with great passion.

Hopefully you’ll forgive me for making this column that’s supposed to be about little things, about a really big thing; and Dad, thanks for clearing that path for me ~ I think I've found north!