Enthusiasm: The Age of Discovery Catalyst

Growing up, I was constantly around theatre, both in my community, church, and childhood. I began to appreciate it more when I participated in my first musical, The Music Man, as a ten-year-old boy. I loved being a part of a show, but never really did much to pursue it until I was nearing the end of high school. I quickly realized that I really loved the acting events in speech and debate, and thought to myself, “Why not? I love theatre and have some talent in it, why not join?”, and so I auditioned for some drama and improv groups and the rest is history. I loved my senior year more than any other year of school I ever had up until that point, thanks to my involvement in theatre.

Reflecting on this experience, I realize now that despite my nervousness about pursuing theatre when I was younger, I ended up participating and loving what I did. I was not the most talented person to ever grace the stage, but I felt the joy of performing rush through my soul and contributed enthusiasm into every show I did. One does not need to be the greatest in something to enjoy and contribute to a pursuit. Such is the lesson of life we learned from Prince Henry the Navigator.

He was just an enthusiast for seafaring that spurred on other explorers to find new places.

At age 21, Prince Henry was involved in securing and protecting Portugal with the capture of Ceuta, a key post on the North African coast by the straits of Gibraltar. Sending the Moors packing, it made Moorish-Spanish communication more difficult going forward. With his involvement in the battle, his curiosity and desire for exploration (and money and Christian missionary work) was piqued and he never lost it the remainder of his life.

For a time, he was intimately involved directly in seafaring exploration and navigation, exploring west Africa for some twenty years after it. But with royal duties in the courts increasing, eventually he spent more time at home rather than abroad. Nevertheless, he never stopped loving exploration. He would hear seamen tell him stories of their travels, listening intently. His desire to explore spurred the explorers to go farther, providing ongoing support for 40 years in the field he loved: seafaring exploration.