You need passion to achieve anything important in life. But people who have only passion can tire themselves out very quickly. They may suffer from burnout or a sense of loss when they give something their all and still don’t see the desired results. That is why passion needs to be balanced with dispassion, which lies at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Dispassion is like a safety valve. It keeps you sane. Passion is like breathing in; dispassion is like breathing out. If you only breathe in and are unable to breathe out, you are in trouble. No one can say, “I only want to breathe in; I don’t want to breathe out.” That is impossible. Dispassion is the ability to let go, and that brings relief.
Understanding the Shift
Everyone has some degree of dispassion within them.
It grows as life goes on and as our hearts and minds mature. When you experience a loss, you have to move on. That ability to move on is dispassion. You digest the bitter pill and continue with life.
Every one of us already practices dispassion every day. You experience it each night. When you go to sleep, you let go of everything. Your worries, achievements, and plans fall away on their own. Without this ability to let go, sleep is impossible. A complete lack of dispassion can lead to insomnia and anxiety. Passion is essential for work, but dispassion is essential for rest. It is not the opposite of passion; it complements it and gives you strength.
Do not think, “I will become dispassionate when I am 60, 70, or 80.” It does not work that way. We do not say, “I will work the whole month and sleep the next month,” do we? Work and rest go hand in hand every day. Naturally, we become dispassionate for six or seven hours while we sleep. That balance is essential.
The Role of Compassion
Between passion and dispassion lies compassion. You need it for yourself as much as for others. It prevents you from becoming consumed by passion or drifting into complacency in the name of dispassion.
Compassion allows you to forgive and move on. When someone does something wrong, you respond with compassion rather than anger. When you look back at your own life, you realize you have made many mistakes. So has everyone else, to a greater or lesser extent.
Compassion completes the balance. Dispassion helps you rest well. Passion helps you achieve your goals. Compassion allows your personality to flourish and brings a sense of serenity. We need passion, dispassion, and compassion in equal measure; the balance of all three is vital to a fulfilling life.
So, have passion when you work, dispassion when you rest, and let compassion become your nature.
The author is a humanitarian leader, spiritual teacher and an ambassador of peace. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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