Irrational, Passionate, Beautiful & Human

As a child I collected rocks. Limestone, sandstone, mica, quartz - they all went in my box. All these years later I hardly remembered the difference between an igneous and a metamorphic rock. What I did remember was the single-mindedness with which I had picked through the woods behind my house, and the pure joy of finding something valuable enough to hold on to. It seemed reasonable to call this passion, and to think of myself - and everyone else - as a collection of passions. What this suggest is that it is not simply our ability to think, to be rational, that distinguishes humans from other species, but our ability to be irrational - to put stones in our pockets because we think they are beautiful.

Sue Halpern Four Wings and a Prayer: Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly