Passion

Passion

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Passion. An uncontrollable desire? An urge that overwhelms you? A drive? Does it matter…how we define it? I say no, not really. All that matters is the feeling, the sensation…the passion! It can be glorious. It can be sensual. It can be erotic, exhilarating, intellectually stimulating.
It can also be painful…unimaginably so!
What can we do with this elusive yet oh so palpable human condition. We can ignore it–not likely. But even if we could, that doesn’t quite cure the problem, does it? That is, if we see it as a problem. Some may not. To those who don’t, passion is something to be embraced, enjoyed...many times, at their peril. But then, when passion is morally and or ethically available rather than forbidden, it somehow loses some of its flavor, some of that spark that latched onto us and lured us in to begin with.
Passion is something that we’ve all had to deal with at one time or another and for most of us, it is over something that is out of reach, untouchable, beyond our acceptable allowances. I am of course speaking of romantic passion not cerebral, artistic or other such yearnings of the non-illicit kind. I mean the passion of blood, the liquid allure of that febrile touch; your girlfriend’s sister, your sister’s husband, a married man/woman, and underage girl, or as reported in the press lately with female teachers, underage boys - all of these present themes of passion that may either teach us restraint and build our character, or show us our darker side and demonstrate how weak we actually are.
Being a Christian, and an enthusiastically red blooded American male as well, I have had my share of challenges with my own passions, some of which I’ve stood up to, head on in brave and honorable combat, defeating them with such alacrity that I fell into that other category of debauchery–Pride! But that’s for another column.
What I want to look at here is why that particular species of passion, the forbidden kind, is so desirable, so delectable? Why is it that a beautiful and luscious woman whom you desire goes from red hot to a glowing white just because someone or something says, No, you may not! Why does the blood heat up when she ‘accidentally’ flashes her thigh, but boils over if she’s wearing a plaid skirt and knee socks? A woman with heavy eye make-up and thick lipstick in a short dress looking at you with a provocative stare may make you sizzle, but if the same woman does the same thing but from beneath a nun’s habit it may very well make you pass out?
Why?
From the beginning, human history is saturated with attempts to answer that very question in artistic form. If this age old mystery were not the conundrum it is, just think of the thousands of works of literature alone that we would be without.
Wisdom can build your character. Love can break your heart. Danger can put you in the ground.
Passion can do all three.
This thing so named is truly a poison more deadly than a viper’s bite, yet sweeter than flowing honey. And at the same time, it can be a life lesson that strengthens, lifts, and brings us to ourselves in ways we may never realize. But beware; it is not to be toyed with! As succulent as it is as it warms the tongue and brings water to the mouth, let us always remember that it is a beautiful, sleeping lion, best never approached. Songwriters sing of it, poets rhapsodize of it, I avoid it.
I just wish it would avoid me!

Though the rose be winsome, and lovely when worn,
The result may be crimson, when touched by the thorn.

Keck