Passionate Maintenance

"Passion is the element in which we live; without it, we hardly vegetate."
- Lord Byron

I vividly remember an instructor I once had while training for the Smith System of driving. He was a tall, barroom brawl, burly man. Bushy mustache, wild hair. Clearly someone who has seen more than a few road miles in his time. What made him stand out even more than his appearance was his training technique. He didn't simply read off a bunch of statistics in that I'm-so-bored-with-my-job monotone voice we've all heard at one point or another in our travels. If that were the case, I surely wouldn't be writing about him now. And don't call me Shirley. His approach was slightly different...

He screamed at us. A LOT. He yelled, laughed, ranted, jumped up and down, threw chairs, and yelled some more. This would go on almost non stop over the course of two, eight hour training classes. Many of us thought the man was either on some kind of medication, or off some kind of medication. Either way, we certainly couldn't ignore him, and had no choice but to listen to what the man had to say.

Three years later, not only do I still remember that instructor, but I still actively utilize the safe driving techniques he taught us in that class, and because of his unorthodox method of teaching, I have avoided several near accidents on the road since then. He made me a better driver. Why? Because of his fearless passion for safe driving and safe drivers.

You see, he wasn't crazy at all. He was passionate for what he did. Truly passionate. That guy had his inner fire burning so hot that we all felt the heat. However, I've come to discover that passion only stays around if we actively tend to it, like a roaring campfire. We have to keep adding metaphorical 'logs' to keep it going. If not, the fires of passion will simply smolder and die out. Passion is not a given. It's there for the taking, but you have to tend to it, and if it does go out, you have to find some kindling to get it roaring once again.

Passionate maintenance is just as important for the balance of the soul as an oil change is for your car. It keeps them both moving forward, and as well know, that is the only direction we can (and must) go. If you let your passion die (be it love for work or someone else), it is your responsibility to get the fire going again. You can't wait around for passion (or anything else, for that matter), just like you can't wait around for firewood to spontaneously combust. It takes action on your part to get it going, then it takes maintenance to keep it going. Whether that maintenance takes the form of attending a film festival (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), or being inspired by a movie trailer, it's up to you to generate the heat that fuels the soul.

So yes, sometimes you have to yell, laugh, rant, jump up and down, and throw chairs to keep that fire burning, and that's okay. It's your passionate maintenance, and it may result in the creation of art, the bonding of love, or the saving of lives on the open road.

I owe my life to one man's passion for safety, and I was only in his company for sixteen hours.

Imagine the effect that our passion could have on those we see everyday...