My Motivation Quote

I think it's pretty understood that if I could, I would forget about grades and tests, and live in a library. Educational systems and I clash all too often. I love learning, but I find either I'm stressed or bored when scheduled. For instance, today I finished each teacher's assignment twenty minutes or more before class was over, and really didn't learn much in that time, but afterwards I would listen to Prince Caspian if the teacher allowed iPods, or read How the Scotts Invented the Modern World, which is really interesting and educational (it's like, the history of Scotland). I found this quote a long time ago, and it has helped me through times when the subject on schedule for the class was not interesting (usually history). It's by John Mark Reynold's blog. The reason I'm posting it here is many links expire over time, and I don't want to loose it. Even if you don't believe in religion, it's talking about passion- some apply that to God, but others to life, so I think it's a pretty universally applicable quote.

"There is no excuse for such folly [ignorance] in our Faith! We are, more than anything else, a religion centered in Love. God is love . . . that is the best word for His very essence. He came to us and revealed Himself to us out of love . . . or we could not know Him save as the object of our heart’s best longing (a sort of “known unknown”). He wants us to come to Him out of love. If all this is true, then our passion for Him should make it hard to stop studying Him and His mighty works!
We don’t study enough, because we don’t love enough. The lazy are passionless and who wants to be passionless?
It would be as if I claimed that since I love your Mother (the Fairest Flower), my love excused total ignorance of anything about her or her works! If a boy tells you he adores you and then does not know your eye color, run away! Love always demands knowledge of the Beloved, not ignorance. If this is true of earthly loves (where a lifetime is too short to try to understand Mother), how much more true is of the Heavenly Love?
God acted in space and time. Christians should understand that as best they can in science and history. God acted spiritual reality so the Christian who loves Him will long to see His works (to glory in them!) in philosophy and theology. "

[And my English teacher loves one of the ancient philosophers quote that art is an imitation of life, through poetry, literature, and fine arts. If you look for it, there really is a reason to study everything we "have" to. Once you find that passion, nothing's really boring or useless. -Chels]