The Importance of Passion

I have to give a talk this week. Or should I say, quite a long time ago, I was asked to give a talk to the seniors at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins.  I said yes, I even before I asked what they wanted me to talk about. Turned out to be “your life story and knowledge.” Whoa! A big order.

After pondering just what a bunch of high school seniors antsy to get out on their own in the world might like to hear from an old coot, I thought maybe nothing. Who knows how many of them will even show up?

I decided to talk about The Importance of Passion. The word has a whole array of definitions, one or two of which just might pique the interest of teenagers, right?

In the name of doing a little research, I listened to a sermon at the Unitarian church entitled What Is Your Passion? But it didn’t help me much. It suggested having a passion for life and in doing so think, thank and act. I needed a few more specifics.

The talk is to last 45 minutes-way too long to blab on about myself. Fortunately, I came across Tim Shea’s new book A Day Like Any Other: All American Tales. I know this guy. He gradated from Rocky Mountain High School the same year my older son did. He’s never written a book before. He’s been a football coach, a truck driver and is a talented storyteller. He’s a keen observer of the small events that make life meaningful and a few years ago he began sharing his encounters on Facebook. A writer friend and fellow Rocky Mountain graduate turned his words into a book.

So, I’m going to talk about Tim and his book and share a couple of pieces from it with the high school seniors.  And I’ll talk about my passions as well—sitting down writing and standing up running and the hassles and joy inherent in doing both.

In one of his pieces, Tim flips through a yearbook and tells his son stories about what his classmates are doing more than three decades after graduation. I believe it may be enough to scare them, them challenge them, at least make them sit up and take notice. Maybe they will even take a look at their own personal passions with an eye to pursuing them with increased enthusiasm.

“Writing is the only thing I’ve ever done in my life without a goal attached to it,” Tim says. “Writing stories, talking about people I’ve met or things that I’ve seen is the only thing I’ve ever done in my life purely for the pleasure of doing it.”

That’s what I call a passion.

PS- 1-25-16. The talk went well. I left with great admiration for the current crop of high school students.