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WHEN PASSIONS COLLIDE
Kathlyn Q. Barrozo
Class of 1991, University of Santo Tomas
B.S. Medical Technology
What happens when a person lives on passion alone and nothing else? The one good thing about living a life
filled with passion is that you never notice time ticking by and you find that life is always interesting and
challenging. The bad thing is that you might easily get disillusioned and misled, thereby making you feel
disappointed too easily. Too much passion and little of anything else is not good. It could make your
foundations too weak and brittle.
What happens when a person lives on passion alone and nothing else? He might find others too bothersome.
He might feel uncomfortable and forever suspicious of the motives of others. He might think that others are
out to discredit him, even when others are just looking to help him in his pursuit. He might shun others too
easily. Too much zeal might cause someone to do things too grandly, view things much too extremely, consider
others much too negatively.
What happens when a person lives on passion alone and nothing else? He might find his goals as the loftiest,
and consider others’ goals as inconsequential when compared to his own. In other words, he might become
too self-centered and egotistical. Remember what the best Protestant preacher in the US, Ralph W. Sockman,
once said: True humility is intelligent self-respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of
ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be.
Putting it simply, although it’s perfectly fine to be constantly fuelled by passion, too much of it can make us lose
sight of our true purpose. It is therefore vital that we learn to attain a perfect balance between passion and
ambition. If we forget that ambition can be attained in a variety of ways, such as hard work and not just passion,
our journeys might not end at all.
For those who have watched The Devil Wears Prada, which starred Anne Hathaway and Ms. Meryl Streep, they
would find out how passion drove the character Miranda Priestly into alienating herself from her current
husband (she’d been married before), and how too much ambition drove her to disregard even her most loyal
employees’ own concerns. She ran roughshod over other people’s circumstances in pursuit of her own
ambitions. She was passionate about her job, but easily forgot that there were more things in life than just
burning passion and high-octane ambitions. Fortunately, Andrea Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, realized
soon enough that she didn’t want to be like Miranda, so the movie ends on a terrific note.
Living your life with passion is fine as long as you never burn your bridges and strive to remain at peace with
others in your life. Live life with passion, but do so with the fullest respect for others who are also pursing their
own goals with passion.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Watch the movie mentioned in the essay. Be ready to tell the story in your own words in class.
2. Why is living with too much passion inadvisable?
3. How can passion make you alienate others? Elaborate on your answer.
4. Why do people like Miranda Priestly find it difficult to live with other people?
5. Do you consider yourself a passionate person? Why or why not?