Passion : an Extended Definition

"Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion." Strangely, the origin of passionis passio, which is Latin for 'suffering'. In theory it makes sense, since passion is often accompanied by suffering and struggles. A prime example is the passion between Romeo & Juliet and how much they endured until their death, trying to be together but not being able to.

Though in our secular world, passion is interpreted in a different way as it was seen so in the past. It is ardor, ecstasy, spirit, ire, adrenaline, fanaticism, light-headedness, all fused together yet easily separated at the same time. Passion is what fuels the artist to slam the canvas with colors, what drives the priest to give his daily sermon at the altar, what propels starlets to stardom, what sparks between young lovers upon contact, what leads serial killers to their art of slaying.

Humans may confuse passion with insanity, parasitical attachment, and or stalking. It is not maternal love nor is it an extracurricular activity. It is not mass genocide, a lifestyle, nor the blame for bankruptcy. It is not an excuse for irrationality, forgetfulness, or flat out immaturity. Passion is neither the reason for statistics such as 64.5% of Americans being overweight nor the reason the majority of American's are in grave debt.

There is a spectrum of feelings that filter to be passion as there are many emotions and human behaviors that do not. But what is the most notable are the results and effects of the endless types of classifiable passion. A perfect murder, a Nobel Peace Prize, a new life, the cure for cancer, a revolution, the appointment of a high cardinal position in the Vatican City, an architectural masterpiece, and the Holocaust are all products of a passion. This emotion can have both positive and negative effects and none at all, on our worlds and ourselves. Unfortunately, "passion" has fallen into the hands of American industry and consequently has been marketed and adulterated and regurgitated as a day of the year called Valentine's Day, where we are supposed to show more love than the norm in hopes to evoke passion for a day. This should not be related to Valentine's Day, as the true meaning of the day has been abolished by Hallmark cards, expensive chocolates, and roses. Passion has caused much greater things in history and should be directly linked to specific day of the year, but should be incorporated in our everyday lives.

It looms intangibly in the air to those who lack spirit and life, but passion is everywhere and available to anyone. It is behind locked doors, in an emergency room, in the studio of an aspiring journalist, in the basement of a young chemist, in the stands at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and even in one's grandmother's backyard by her tomato patch. Basically, if there is life, there is passion, as we as humans all possess it and have the capability to exert it.

To me, passion is a tremendous drive one can experience, shifting ideas and emotions in a different direction. Broken down further, it is adrenaline in its purest form. It is one of the multiple tiny building blocks that make up feelings. On such a scale, passion is perceived as small in comparison to other emotions, but actually, it is the smallest "feeling" that can produce the biggest "problems". Passion is to blame for 80% of unwanted pregnancies.