Stepping down....

I was talking with my dad lastnight about something he has been involved in the for the last 10 or 12 years.  Over the last three years he said he has done everything out of obligation and that it was wrong for him to go on pretending he had desire for the office he serves in.  He thinks it's time he step down and let someone with passion take over or no one fulfill the role at all.  

This was a compelling thought and conversation for me.  Reason being, I do not have the passion for a few things I am involved in.  I know I don't have passion, but people that see me in those roles don't really know my lack of passion.  They may, from time to time, get the feeling my heart is not in it but generally speaking they do not have any idea that I lack passion.  So is it passion alone that justifies my being in a position, role, occupation or relationship?  When I lack the passion, do I need to pull the pin and exit stage left?  Or is there some extent to which obligation is more important than passion?  I believe that I have a very strong passion for my children.  I promised them with unspoken words that I will be here for them until they are ready to be on their own.  My employer I have promised nothing but to show up another day and make another dollar.  My wife I have promised til death do us part, but I swear I died long ago to her.  So in the end, I think that obligation can over ride our lack of passion and in some instances it should.  Is dad wrong for stepping down?  I don't think so.  For me, however, I will stay where I am at and what I am doing for years to come.  Maybe the passion will return, maybe it won't.  Those I am obligated towards do not seem to care why I do what I do, as long as I do it.  Perhaps they require nothing more in life than to get their needs met, they don't care how it happens as long as someone makes it happen.  Such a shallow existence is a sad one. But it is one for far to many in this world.