Heroes And Their Passions
I watched “Spirit of St. Louis” last night. Yes, I should have been writing, but it was worth it. My mom watched it with me and kept making comments like, “why did he do that?”, and “why didn’t he land somewhere are get some sleep?”, or “how could anyone ever do something like that?” Now, she has Alzheimers, so I am used to taking her statements with a degree of tolerance for not understanding. In this case though, she got me to thinking of the skepticism with which we usually great anyone who steps out in any field to be The First. Before that historic flight, Charles Lindbergh was generally regarded as a bum who would never amount to anything because of his consuming interest in airplanes. Like the Wright Brothers, he faced a lot of ridicule because of his passion for something the average person couldn’t understand or see any point to.
He made the first transatlantic flight under harrowing conditions – so that now, innumerable people make transatlantic flights in comfort every day and don’t think anything about it. Columbus, Magellan, Galileo,and Edison all faced ridicule, and in some cases, outright persecution, because they were among the first to dare to do or to think something new. Because they did these things, now everyone benefits and we praise their works, but maybe what we should be praising is their dedication to their passion.
Without a doubt, some of Lindbergh’s family didn’t see the point in him flying all over the place, even being part of an air circus for a while. They probably lost a lot of sleep wondering if he would ever settle down and get a real job. They didn’t share his passion, but more importantly, they didn’t understand the significance of having that passion.
Not all the passionate, dedicated people with real dreams are going to make history. Many of them are around us, determined to take their own path in life, rather than settling down and settling for an ordinary job doing ordinary things. As a writer, I fall into this category in a small way, so I have a glimpse of what it means to go against the flow. Every engineer that steps out on his or her own to pursue an idea instead of staying in a “safe” corporate environment does so because of passion and dedication.
So, why do nearly all parents and schools do their dead level best to squash that passion? It is perhaps, part of the challenge that separates out the weak from the dedicated. I am suddenly reminded of asking my mom why dad had never encouraged me in my choice to pursue my dreams. It was not long after he died. Her answer surprised me and gave things a whole new meaning. She said, “He knew that if you really wanted to do it, nothing would stop you.” Wow!
How many times do we miss the real lessons in the lives of those who’ve gone before us? It isn’t so much that Lindbergh made that first transatlantic flight, but that he kept his passion and dedication intact against both opposition and, even worse, indifference. The actual flight, amazing as it was, is not what made him a hero. What made him a hero was pursuing his passion regardless. Without it, that historic flight would never have been made.
