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July 2, 2006
- Day 5 - Week 13 - Passion Drives Behavior
While the United States of
America prepares to celebrate July 4th,
the rest of the world prepares to watch the final
three matches of the World Cup. Appropriately named
football, soccer to us, is simply another one of
many athletic endeavors designed to entertain us.
On the contrary, football in many countries is a
religion. Watching parts of several matches has
demonstrated to me that no religious zealot has
quite the fervor and intensity of a football fan
from Portugal, France, Germany or Italy, the final
four teams left standing after almost a month of
games. They are nuts over this simple little game
of passing a ball around with their feet.
Passionate followers will go to any lengths to
obtain a ticket, and when the games are televised
whole nations pause and watch.
An aside: Laura Kreitler just
happened to be in Paris, and at a pub the night
France beat defending world champion Brazil in the
televised World Cup match. We have yet to hear a
report.
What does this all have to do
with cancer and getting well?
First, a story to illustrate a
point. Approximately 30 years ago I listened
attentively to a large bearded Franciscan Friar tell
me and a rapt audience what was wrong with religion
today. I paraphrase: There is no passion in the
pulpit anymore. No passion for the poor, or the
needy, and little passion for anything else for that
matter. What we need is passion. He delivered his
talk with a passion rarely seen anymore.
Ok, let’s put all of this
together. Football or soccer, religion, passion,
and cancer – how do they all relate, or do they?
In an era that challenges each
and every individual it has become clear we need
something positive to believe in and root for. WE
all need heroes and heroines, and with passion and
excitement the transference for many has been to
professional athletes and teams of all levels of
play. Fans cheer fanatically hoping to stand with
the winner. If entertainment has become our
religion, then we are a very religious nation.
Fans are passionate about their
soccer, but not passionate enough about many things
that really matter to our long term well being. I
guess having an illness that takes the lives of many
each year, and touches the lives of millions more on
a regular basis, has prompted me to begin to develop
a passion for finding out why this is all
happening. This means I will probably focus time,
energy, intellect, and writing in new ways to
discover new truths about cancer.
Please excuse, in advance, my
exuberance over potential preventative insights,
because my passion may cloud my wisdom at times. On
the other hand, without the passion emerging to
drive my pursuit, I might as well succumb to the
malaise of modern times; that is, the sin of
complacency and ennui, or boredom.
Yes, I am getting all riled up
about cancer, and with the words of our daughter
Jennifer’s doctor ringing in our ears, “your
daughter had a malignant tumor,” perhaps you can
understand why.
I have always been passionate
about life. I love my life. I love God’s creation
with a passion, especially when the words Cape and
Cod get mentioned. With passion I have embraced
trying to preserve this marvelous gift for future
generations.
Now, a few hours before our day
of Independence, I am reminded that others before me
have given me the gift of freedom; freedom to be
passionate about finding ways to prevent others from
getting cancer, period!
Back to Week 13 |
