The Energy of Passion

Last night, Rick and I were watching the Cubs game (Go Cubs!!). Tommy Lasorda did the 7th Inning stretch and then he spent some time in the booth with the announcers. When I saw him, I thought "Wow. He hasn't changed a bit." I had the same thought as I listened to him passionately talk about baseball. He has such an amazing feel and knowledge of the game. He understands and talks about all those little intuitive things about baseball that the casual fan would likely miss. It's not surprising since he spent 59 years with the Dodgers.

What did surprise me was when they said that he was 80 years old. Here is someone who is helping to re-define age. He didn't look like nor talk like someone who is "old." As I listened to him, it occurred to me why: he is so passionate about what he has done -- and is still doing -- in life. That passion brings vibrancy. Vibrancy has nothing to do with age.

Or does it? Perhaps vibrancy can only come when you've experienced enough of life -- the ups, the downs, the challenges, the heartbreaks, the joys, and the realized dreams -- to truly be engaged and passionate about what it is that you do? Does the range of emotions that we experience in our lives allow us to enjoy, at a much deeper level, those things that we love? I don't know. What I do know is how inspiring it is to witness someone who is so engaged and passionate about what it is that they are doing. Maybe that is the elixir for vibrancy?