“You know, the Greeks didn’t write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: ‘Did he have passion?’” – Dean Kansky in Serendipity

I’m pretty sure I’ve quoted this elsewhere in Thanky, so please pardon the repetition.

I didn’t particularly care for the movie Serendipity when it came out, but it’s become one of those movies I’ll watch time and time again when it’s on TV. Then again, most anything that features John Cusack, chick-flick or not, is a no-brainer for me.

I was thinking about passion last night, and how it’s that one thing that connects most everything we come across which stirs an emotion inside us.

The good, the bad and the ugly are all connected by passion. Some people in the world do terrible things because they have a passion for a certain cause, regardless of whether that cause is noble.

Others do lovely, heartfelt things because they’re fueled by a do-good, pay-it-forward kind of passion.

If we’re unhappy, sometimes it’s because our passion isn’t being pursued or because it hasn’t yet been realized.

Passion isn’t always about making a public name for yourself. Sometimes it’s the personal side of things that’s even more important – case in point: many parent with passion, and many teach with passion.

Passion isn’t always loud, and it isn’t always obvious. It doesn’t matter whether it brings you fame or money – what matters is that it’s there. And it’s something that we should ask ourselves on a daily basis – not something we should leave for someone else to ponder after we’ve passed.

The question needs an answer of “yes,” and it needs it frequently. On today, Valentine’s Day, it’s a fitting question for us all: do you have passion? I know that I do, and I am thankful for mine.