Passion, and the lack thereof

It's evident to anyone who knows me that I lead, by intent, a more-or-less passionless life. This is desirable from a Buddhist and Taoist perspective, as I understand it. And probably the reason this belief resonates with me is because my own life experience suggested passion usually produces undesirable results. Your mileage may, of course, vary.

At this point, I don't know if I could muster passion for anything even if I had to.

But I see people from time to time who put their passion to good use. I know several artists whose passion, coupled with a degree of self-discipline, helps them regularly produce work.

Today I listened to a woman with whom I am passingly acquainted talk passionately about her work with 'troubled youth,' and I wondered how someone develops the passion to undertake a job of that sort. If everyone had the same lack of passion I've developed, who would do these kinds of jobs for which no amount of monetary incentive could be sufficient?

At the same time, some of these same people have personal lives that I would find unlivable.

The turmoil and angst and drama in their lives is a product of the same passion that drives them to create art.

I wonder is there is a way to channel passion in a productive direction, eliminating the disruptive and the negative - or if one is inevitably tied to the other.