Response

                                                                    Passion


  September 10, 2013, after a brutal first half of the USA vs Mexico qualifying game for the World Cup, the second half begins. The players enter the field all sweaty and winded, but willing and excited to finish the match and come out with a victory. The clock starts, about 45 minutes of play time left for sweet sweet victory or a bitter, heart wrenching defeat. Three minutes into the second half, USA's ball for a corner kick, its played in, and Eddie Johnson flies out of no where and beautifully heads the ball past Mexico's keeper Corona. The crowd goes insane, everyone is fired up. Mexico, out looking for revenge. The game goes on, Mexico tries desperately to score an equalizer but they just can not deliver. USA's defense remains impenetrable and Tim Howard remains strong. And then in the 77 minute the unexpected happened, Landon Donavan scored after a spectacular cross by Diskerud.  After ninety plus minutes of insane aggression, running and sweating the game is over. The score Dos a cero, USA.

   But what drove these men to run around a field for over ninety minutes just kicking a ball? What made them train for so many hours beforehand just for a chance? What drove them to want to put their bodies through such intense conditioning all their life? And for what? A chance to enter in to a chance to enter the World Cup. There are 207 countries in the world, only 32  qualify for the world cup. That means a staggering 175 countries will not get to see their team in the World Cup.  That means  the 1,925 other starters for the various countries will not get to participate in this golden opportunity. But they still don't give up hope.  They just turn around and condition harder, train longer, work out continuously for the next few years for a second go at it.  Why might they do this you might ask? Simple, it's their passion.

     Passion is the underlining force that drives an individual.  It's the stuff that makes you ready to wake up each day with your chin held high and your chest puffed out.  Passion drives and individual to extremes, to do things that others would not, could not, comprehend. But to that individual it would make all the sense in the world. And with this passion you can do wonders.

     The world is made up of some billion number of people, and yet there is only one you. There is only one you that has had all your experiences, all your hardships, all your joy and happiness. And those experiences that may only be significant to you can be part of your passion. Passion can be as simple as the joy you get from simple helping others. That you would do all that you can, put in all that you earn just so you can see someone else happy and to see their smile. And then on the other end of the spectrum it can be as complex as being an astro physicist or some quantum mechanic or finding the cure for cancer.  What ever it is it will be unique to you. Passion gives people motivation. Its an inward zeal that forces you to grasp for your dream. To put your body through the extreme. Your passion will help you make difficult choices in life.  Choices that you would rather not make, but you know that you have to because there is no way around it.
     Unfortunately, many people may feel like they are just going through life's motions.  Waking up to a house they hate, going to a job that bores them, eating similar meals each night and returning home only to relive the entire day all over again in twelve hours.  Many people may feel like there is no purpose in life, no enjoyment, no satisfaction. Often that is because people are focused on themselves to much.  They only do what pleases them, not wanting to leave their comfort zone.  That is no way to live though.  Start by trying to make others happy, because there will always be someone who is in a worse off condition than you. Do something out of your 'bubble of safety' and try something new. Who knows, you might find your passion. But you wont know unless you try.

    Passion is finding something you love and sticking with it, through thick or thin.  In the world we live in there are many things that can make us happy, it can be the latest model of the iPhone to the new Doritos Locos Tacos at Taco Bell ( some enjoyment is more short lived than others), but what ever thing it might be there will always be something new and better in six months or so.  Though the latest and the best may make you happy for a time you know it will not last.  But following your passion will last a life time.  Passion is not really a physical object that you can grasp. Back to the soccer analogy, yes the World Cup is a tournament of a physical  sport, and yes you can physically grasp the trophy and medals. But isn't the feeling of accomplishment more satisfactory. The knowledge that you faced adversity and came out victorious give you more bragging rights. Knowing that you and your ten other team mates have finally made it to the top of the soccer world.  And that feeling is the realization that all your hard work, the long hours you spent training for the sheer joy of this moment, has finally payed off.  the fact that your passion, your motivation in life, has made you successful. And also you will notice that whomever wins the World Cup will not stop and quite soccer because they are at the top. Rather they will just go back through the training all over again because it is what they love, it is their passion.