Passion takes 'I'

There I go again. My years-ago-learned touch-typing skills just failed me once more. After completing a document and proofing it, there it was: a glaring typo. My intended word was "passion," but what was actually in print was "passon." Pass on. I had skipped over the "i."

Hmmm, on reflection, was that a happy fault? Is this really a blessing in disguise?

Doing something with passion takes one's whole heart and soul. Feeling passionate about something means feeling consumed by the ardor of it all. Whatever this is, it's something that gets me off the couch and involved. 

Back to the typo. "Pass on" has a clear meaning. I hold something but it's too important to keep for myself, so I choose to pass that on to you. History, heritage, family business, religion, ethnic customs, and values are all things that get passed on.

In contrast, there are other things that I can choose to pass on, meaning I decline something. For example, an unpopular vegetable comes my way at a family dinner, and I say, "Thanks, but I'll pass on that."

Now I get it. To pass something on to another or to pass on something unpopular takes a person to do that. The sentence needs a subject to do that passing on, the pronoun "I."  

Back again to the typo. the letter "i" is what was missing when I had intended to write "passion" but instead got "pass on." It takes me to bring the passion to life. Passion is nothing without me. 

[Sr. Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.]