“Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow” A.P.J Abdul Kalam
The season of lent is over and the holy weekend of Easter just behind us. All this brings to my mind the issue of sacrifice. Lent: we are supposed to sacrifice (give up) something we hold dear for a month. According to Dictionary.com we are to “abandon a pleasurable habit as an act of devotion and self-discipline”. Sacrifice is defined by the Free Merriam-Webster dictionary as; “the act of giving up something that you want to keep, especially in order to get or do something else or help someone”. Well, considering Christians beliefs and the act that led to Easter, we see the ultimate sacrifice made by God in giving his son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross in order to save mankind from sin. A selfless act indeed!
What about us? Do we live in a selfless or selfish way? Are we governed in our actions to do for gain or for the good of others? Are we living a life where we are always looking within or do we actually make the sacrifice and give of ourselves so that those “without” can benefit? I believe we should be asking ourselves these questions daily. Why am I doing this? What is my ultimate goal in taking this action? What do I hope to gain, or who do I hope will gain? A lot of questions with probably as many answers as there are people in this world.
As a parent it is my belief that I have a good understanding and experience with sacrifice. In “putting in the woman hours” I have many a time chosen to concede to my Angel, in lieu of personal gratification. I have knowingly made many decisions that suited her because in my opinion, when you make a commitment such as becoming a parent, you should be ready to sacrifice. I mean look at the whole process of childbirth from the perspective of a woman: The pregnancy, you give over your body for the pure benefit of the child forming and growing inside of you, you gain weight, suffer discomfort, pain, you are inconvenienced, and can’t sleep, you sometimes even eat stuff you would not ordinarily eat, all for this being inside of you. For nine months you let it take you where it may. Then when it is time, you suffer more pain than you can handle (thank God you cannot revisit that pain after the fact. I don’t think there would be more than one child born to each woman if that was not the case), your body is extended beyond belief, and all for the safe passage of this amazing little being to enter into this world.
Okay so that is my example of sacrifice, and I don’t believe for a second that sacrifice is only made by women and only by the process of carrying and birthing a child. There are many examples and ways people make sacrifices. Its my opinion though, that when one makes a sacrifice then they are looking ahead, looking at the greater good and not at their own personal needs and wants. Even in business in all the books I have been reading lately, the constant message that to succeed in business you should look to do things that benefit others and you have a better chance of success. All around us is the push to look outwardly at what we can do and who we can help and how we can give of ourselves for the benefit of others. Surely the universe is sending us a message? All the people we honour for greatness ,mostly for their self-sacrifice: Mother Theresa, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and closer home for me, Wangari Maathai; all great people who looked beyond themselves and gave up personal comforts and pleasures for the greater good, willing to die for what they believed in.
Sacrifice: What are you willing to give up? And for who?