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The Art and Science of Passion
“Basketball is in my blood. It is my obligation to try.”
–NBA legend Hakeen Olajuwon
“Rock ’n’ roll is in my blood.”
–Chris Robertson, of the Black Stone Cherry
“If anything, I’d say my family was entrepreneurial – my grandfather and father. It was in our blood.”
–Tilman J. Fertitta, billionaire restaurateur and casino owner
“Fiction writing was in my blood from a very young age, but I never considered writing as a real career…”
–James Rollins, bestselling novelist
Millions of people have said one thing or another was “In their blood.”
I am sure I have said writing or preaching or football or some other passion was in my blood at one time or another.
What does that mean, when something is “in your blood?”
It means it is germane to who you are. You can do or be no other. It is in your blood.
If you were to say, “(Blank) is in my blood,” with what would you fill in the blank? (Feel free to let me know in the comments, and why. I love your stories, too.)
So, this statement, which I recently heard in a Netflix original about Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, got me thinking.
Before I say what is in my blood, let me ask, “What is in my blood?”
🧾The Bloody Truth
What if I were a drop of blood? What would that mean? What would my existence consist of? What would I do for a living—no, what would I do for the living? What would be my function, my passion, my purpose?
Weird, right?
Anyway, here goes.
🔬The Chemical makeup of a drop of blood
If you cut me, do I not bleed? But what do I bleed?
Blood isn’t just “red liquid.” It’s a complex suspension of cells and plasma, each with its own chemistry. Roughly:
Plasma (55%) – the liquid portion. ~90% water, dissolved salts (sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, bicarbonate), Proteins (albumin, globulins, clotting factors, fibrinogen), Nutrients (glucose, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins,) Hormones, waste products (urea, CO₂ in solution)
Cells (45%)
o Red blood cells (RBCs, erythrocytes): ~5 million per microliter. Carry oxygen via hemoglobin, a protein containing iron.
o White blood cells (WBCs, leukocytes): immune defense (lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, etc.).
o Platelets (thrombocytes): fragments of larger cells, essential for clotting.
When King David declared, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” he may have been indicating that he knew much more about the miracle of the human body than we tend to credit those of ancient times with knowing. Just a drop of blood is so complex in its makeup, and this complexity equips it for its multifaceted, life-giving, life-preserving, and life-defending role.
👷♂️The Job of a drop of blood
Did you ever own an ant farm as a kid, encased in clear plexiglass so you can see the amazing work the tiny creatures do, the sophistication of their tunnel networks, their amazing work ethic, their defined roles, etc?
One drop of blood is as busy as that.
· Gas Transport – Hemoglobin binds oxygen in the lungs and delivers it to tissues; it also carries some CO₂ back.
· Nutrient Delivery – Glucose, amino acids, lipids, and vitamins are carried to hungry cells.
· Waste Removal – Urea, CO₂, and other byproducts are ferried away for disposal.
· Defense – WBCs patrol for invaders and respond to infection.
· Communication – Hormones hitch rides in plasma, delivering instructions.
· Repair – Platelets clot wounds to prevent blood loss.
· Temperature & pH Regulation – Distributes heat, buffers acidity/alkalinity.
Blood is a minuscule tanker truck, hauling gas; a food plant; a waste management system; Homeland Security; A communication network, an Interweb; a handyman service, fixing things that break; a climate control system…
Like Disney’s Genie (Robin Williams) said of life in the lamp, “Phenomenal cosmic power! Itty bitty living space.”
🧳The journey of a drop of blood
Now, let’s send our drop on a journey through the body:
Start in the Heart (Right Atrium) Arrives from the body through the vena cava, low in oxygen, rich in CO₂.
Right Ventricle → Pulmonary Artery Pumped to the lungs.
In the Lungs CO₂ diffuses out into alveoli, O₂ diffuses in, hemoglobin loads up with oxygen.
Pulmonary Veins → Left Atrium → Left Ventricle Oxygen-rich blood returns to the heart, then pumped out through the aorta.
Through Arteries → Arterioles → Capillaries The drop travels highways (arteries) that narrow to roads (arterioles) and finally to sidewalks (capillaries). Here, oxygen and nutrients diffuse into tissues; wastes enter the blood.
Back via Venules → Veins → Vena Cava → Right Atrium The cycle starts again.
(Yes, I looked up this stuff. No, I am not a scientist, a chemist, or a doctor. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn a while back.)
My blood is a traveler, just like me. Sometimes, it is on the freeway (but hopefully never stuck in traffic, for that is a problem). Sometimes it travels the backroads (my favorite roads, personally, for a Sunday drive or any day that affords it). Other times, it is on some small walking path, not large enough for another lane. You can almost hear the Crickets singing. No, wait. That’s my old joints complaining.
🩸 Fun fact: One drop of blood will make a complete circuit of the body in about 60 seconds at rest—faster if you’re exercising. Over a lifetime, your blood will travel millions of miles inside you.
🔥The Bloody Hell!
I am a Texan, but I have always wanted to say that. It belongs to the British, dadgum it (which belongs to us).
It is overwhelming to consider the massive daily undertaking of a single drop of blood.
So, when you say something is in your blood, understand what you are saying. That thing that is in your blood, then, is a driving force and carries the weight of life in it. Will it sustain you in times of exertion? Will it defend you in times of conflict? Will it sustain, support, and enhance your life? If it defines who you are, what will you commit to it? What will you sacrifice for it? Will it be worth it in the end?
Back to the Netflix special that spawned this article. Jimmy Johnson very briefly touched on how, when he became head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he told his wife of 26 years he wanted a divorce because he only had room in his life for football. He abandoned her and his boys. For reasons all their own, those boys had remained a part of Jimmy’s life. But what was sacrificed for football? Jimmy is in his 80s now, and only he knows what that success cost and if it was worth it.
Teaching (preaching, writing, leading) is in my blood, but my blood is in three daughters and two grandsons, and the wife who has weathered every storm has shed blood, sweat, and tears in support of what was in my blood.
That bloody truth is some things must never be sacrificed, no matter what you say is in your blood.
If we cut you open, what do you bleed? Let me hear from you!
