Passions Make Life Worth Living

Today I attended a conference which focused on including students with autism spectrum disorder with their peers in the general education settings. Patrick Schwarz spoke passionately about the importance of this concept and how educators can help students with ASD to be successfully included in general education. He actually wrote a book to describe one of the ways he did this with one of his students. The name of this book is Just Give Him the Whale. You see, this kiddo loves whales. As a matter of fact, whales are his passion. Pedro walked in with one of his favorite whales on the first day of school and his teacher said, "No toys at school. Toys must stay at home." But Pedro loved his whale and taking his whale from him made him sad and anxious in this new world of school. So Patrick said, "Just give him the whale." Patrick found a way to use Pedro's love of whales to get him to do things that he needed to do to be successful in school. Patrick told this group of educators that passions make life worth living! And one of the exercises we were asked to do is think about and list our passions. What is it that makes life worth living?

The faces of my beautiful grandbabies are my passion. Holding their precious bodies close to me. Knowing they are the most important thing in the world when they walk into a room. Listening to first words. Witnessing those first smiles. Hearing a five word sentence from a two year old. Watching the demonstration of the "crab walk." Watching her eyes light up when I "star" the very best letter a which was copied on the page. Watching peek-a-boo. Hearing the words, "hi grammy." Watching a one year old point to something he is interested in. Swinging, crying, jumping, hopscotching, writing with chalk on the sidewalk, watering flowers, picking strawberries, having snacks, somersaults, toys from the toy box, painting, printing picture, Caillou, ... Precious moments, precious memories, and the realization of how lucky I am to have them so close to me most definitely makes life worth living.

Music! How amazing is it that a some musical notes set to words can evoke emotions that take one back in time to days that have long passed. Just the "right" music can make uninteresting tasks pass effortlessly. WOW! Celine singing "Fly", Bee Gees - "Wedding Day", Roberta Flack-"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", Andrew Lloyd Weber-"Love Changes Everything", Karen Carpenter-"Superstar", Il Divo- "Nella Fantasia", Josh Groban- You Raise Me Up". Moving! Inspiring!

And, what of the beautiful moments in nature. Those special scenic moments that we are afraid to look away from because we fear they will disappear. Rainbows, thick frost on the trees with the sun shining on them, sunrises and sunsets, perfect flowers on a hibiscus plant or a perfect lily, fall trees, water as smooth as glass, ...

Taking the perfect picture.

Feeling my hand on the throttle as the boat speeds through the water on a perfect summer day.

Family gatherings.

Family day.

Yes, passions make life worth living.