Page 237 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

CHAPTER 22

Proceed with Passion

Passion dulls the reason of
all mankind.

Aristotle

I wish I could say I learned the preceding quote from my ardent study
of the great philosopher’s work. Alas, I must admit, I read it in a book
about baseball’s Boston Red Sox and their 1967 pennant drive, in
which former pitching great Jim Lonborg, a legitimate intellectual in
his own right, quoted the deep Greek.
“Gentleman Jim,” as this Red Sox star used to be called for his mild
demeanor, quoted this pithy line in an interview in the Saturday Evening
Post in 1967 in defense of his uncharacteristic aggression on the pitch-
ing mound, throwing so close inside to batters that he actually hit them.
Passion overriding reason.

It’s why otherwise good citizens loot during riots.
It accounts for many poorly matched couples who end up divorced.
It’s why it’s almost impossible not to pay more than you intend to at
an auction.

But this passion-overriding-reason thing can also be constructive.

It’s why soldiers lay down their lives for their country. (Did I say
constructive?)