2 September 2010

Passion and Pain

Banana and Passionfruit Loaf
 Have you ever wondered how passionfruit got their name?

It is actually because Catholic missionaries in South America thought that the shape of the fruit and its flower are symbolic of the passion of Christ.  I'm intrigued by the origins of the word passion.  It is derived from the Greek pathos which can mean "to suffer", but also "to experience".  In Latin, pathos became passio, meaning "to submit" and it is the strength of feeling associated with the biblical idea of the ultimate suffering that Christ submitted himself to that infused the word passion with its modern meaning of strength of feeling, or strong emotions and desires.

We still associate passion with pain.  We burn with passion, we pursue our passions with zeal.  Our passions are something that can consume us.  Certainly they drive us and, ultimately, give our lives meaning.  They are among the things that help us to grow as people.  Perhaps the link between passion and experience is clearer than I first thought.  The link has certainly been recognised for centuries: the Roman poet Horace said:

"Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life."

So, I will harness all my enthusiasm and zeal and dive into this Banana and Passionfruit Loaf, happy in the knowledge that following my passion is not merely an indulgence, but a way to learn, grow and live fully.  Any reasoning that ends up with cake being good is fine with me!

5 comments:

  1. Ciao Mandy nice to hear you've a blog. It's a really good experience
    I've got one too http://cookingmanu.blogspot.com hope you can follow me. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done M, Nice start to your blogging life keep up the good work, passion for life gets us all out of bed in the morning.
    its also nice to see a blog that has more to ofer than just one subject.
    to my veiw the most sucsesfull blogs are based on one subject but talk about everything.
    Tea/David/ the Gourmet!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks guys! The first post is quite scary. I've lost the habit of writing, other than for work or studies, so committing myself to 'paper' in a very personal way is a little out of my comfort zone. But I'm looking forward to finding my voice as I go.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations for the first post.. Its looking like this is melting and oozing with love and passion.. keep this spirit on with every single post. Stop at 100th and then have more passion and go for another 100. All the best Dear and
    Have a Happy cooking with PASSION
    Love always
    Monica

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is exactly what I hoped for Mandy....and its living up to expectation! Keep it coming...

    ReplyDelete