Every now and then it’s a good idea to pause in mid-air so to speak and get a boost of good spirit. This is especially important when one comes up for air after reading and watching absolute mountains of bad news in the regular media.

So here are a two good things that I have come across recently. And I’m going to file them under passion. Each one represents different aspects of human passion. It’s the kind of passion that is the true spirit of human beings. It’s what we still hang around for. It’s certainly not the greed and arrogance of the three CEO’s of Detroit who fly in on their corporate jets to ask for $25b in bailout loans that gets us excited about life.

The first one that caught my eye was a video story on the website of the New York Times. It tells the story of a school in Washington, USA that has a strange sport tradition. They play rugby. Of course being South African this caught my eye.

Rugby in the USA is a rare sporting occurrence. Add to that the fact that this school serves an almost predominantly African American student body, one can see this is not the regular kind of sporting enthusiasm. And yet it has taken off and the kids are doing well with an awesome winning record.

What was the best though was the comment by both teachers and students that this sport had given them a focus in life, something worthwhile to do and was giving them inspiration to work hard in the sport and academically.

One of the most telling quotes in the video which is really worth watching was that now that Obama had won the presidency there were no more excuses for African Americans not to do well. The race was no longer something the young black students could hide their underachievement behind. No more excuses.

Then there was the story of DJ Gregory.  This young man of 30 years of age has Cerebral Palsy and at birth was given the diagnosis that he would never walk. After many operations as a youngster to straighten his legs he can now walk with the aid of a cane. Thank goodness he was blessed with very determined parents.

He has always been an enthusiastic golfer and follows the sport avidly. Through his enthusiasm both in the sport and in overcoming his own handicap he has been able to make friends with golf commentators as well as sportsmen.

This year in 2008 he was invited to participate on the PGA circuit by blogging about his experiences in interviewing players. To add to this challenge he set himself a huge goal which was to walk every hole on every tour event.

Watching a video of his style of walk one is absolutely amazed that this person can actually get around, never mind walk golf courses which are often sloped and slippery.  His sheer guts and determination to achieve this personal best endeared him to the participants in this sport and he has made friends with the media, golfers and spectators.

It’s not only the achievement that gets to everybody. There is more to this person than just somebody who endures a handicap.  The pictures and videos I have seen of him show a face that radiates a smile that has the power to light up the sky. I think people buy into that smile. I know I did.