Love this topic and beautiful essay mon frere. Sacrifice has loomed large on my mind this year. Its invention. Its necessity. You could go as far to say as the line between the successful and the unsuccessful across human history is drawn by their proclivity to sacrifice.
The idea that we can barter with the future. Trade something today for something in store tomorrow.
And poke fun at ancient sacrifice of animals - as we’ve psychologized it now and moved it up a level of abstraction - but actually slaughtering a sheep is a serious affair and hits the message home: of the seriousness of giving up something of value today, to appease the future tomorrow.
Thanks Tommy, I always love to hear your reflections on my writing. You said it well my brother. Sacrifice now and be rewarded later. With the right mindset and practice, one can even find joy in the midst of sacrifice.
We laugh at ancient sacrifice but, ironically, now we are sacrificing our own very souls to modernity (things like news and social media) for the profit of companies and the destruction of our humanness.
"The parent sacrifices their time, money, and freedom to raise their child and is rewarded with purpose, personal growth, and profound unconditional love for another human being." As a parent I was so excited to hear about the rewards that will be coming. Is there a form I need to submit? When do they start?
Interesting thoughts. But how to know what to sacrifice…? Sacrifice the friendship, or the privacy you enjoy by letting a friend temporarily live with you? Sacrifice the nap or the time you’d need to take it?
Great questions, Amanda. I'm not sure I have the answer for everyone. But for me, when I've made the sacrifices that allow me to be at my best (exercise, sleep, proper eating, showing kindness to others, etc.), I can usually hear voice from within that knows what the right thing to do is. Then I go through the gut/heart/head check. But when I'm not in my peak state, when I have not sacrificed what I know I need to, that voice is clouded over.
Thank you, James. That lesson came out in the process of writing this piece and, though not a new insight for humankind, it was a big realization for me.
A joy to work with you on this one! Especially love the idea that it's a battle that must be fought anew each day. And I also admire how tight you kept this essay...it's a cool point and a quick read.
It's always a joy to work with you pal, thank you for your edits on this piece! I love that idea too. It's one of the ideals I live by, an unspoken belief, that I am most certain of. Because when I don't fight the battle--daily exercise, for example--I suffer for it in a far greater way than if I just made the sacrifice I know I need to make.
The Daily Sacrifice! Love that you have used fitness as this is a tough one, committing to the daily grind of sweat and sacrifice for mental and physical wellbeing. Really, all of life’s essential tasks fit your sacrificial metric. Blood, sweat and tears! It’s a beautiful Life!!
Thanks for reading, Dad. Love the idea that all of life’s essential tasks fit the sacrificial metric. It is a beautiful life. More accurately, it's a beautiful life FOR THOSE WHO SACRIFICE!
This: “But the significance of sacrifice isn’t in the addition of something to the realm of the Gods. It’s in the subtraction of something valuable from the giver and the loss and hardship that the one giving must endure.”
Thank you so much for reading and for dropping in the comments here, Willy. Of all the lines in this essay, I'm glad that's the one that stuck out to you. It was a big realization I made in the writing of this essay.
“I know I’m sacrificing when my knee-jerk reaction is avoidance.” - very interesting Jack. I see sacrifice sometimes as just choice. I am sacrificing what I don’t do with what I dodo. The historical spiritual value of the act is certainly a reflection of its value - even today we continue to talk about sacrifice in sports a d life as virtuous. The magical to it all is weird if nothing else. Did Mr. Meebles the goat eating god need all the blood to the alter of him imagined? Do the governments truly need the sacrifice of their military babes to stay whole? Is a sacrificial death valiant or unnecessary? I think also of the 80hour worker and the sacrifice they make to “raise” their family. What if they had sacrificed the “raise” at work instead? Awareness of our sacrifices and what their value is seems important if for nothing else but to help us know our values and purpose. Great read.
So spot on 'Fis: "I am sacrificing what I don’t do with what I dodo." Everything is a tradeoff. Our choices are valuable because we choose the one choice among the infinite others we could have chosen. The same applies to relationships, romantic, friendships, or otherwise. When we commit to one person, or one anything, the value comes from our commitment to that thing and our sacrifice of all of the other things.
Awareness of the sacrifices we are making, as you point out, sits at the crux of it. Thanks for reading and for learning me, brother. I appreciate you.
Good stuff Jack. I’ve been an atheist all my life and I pretty much buy into this model. I sometimes use the term “suffering” instead of “sacrifice,” but it’s the same idea.
Thanks so much, Tom. I too, a non-religious man all of my life, have learned to buy into this model. I don't think there is any other way. If you want to live a meaningful life filled with of good mood days, you must suffer/sacrifice. I don't see any other way, no matter how advanced technology gets. The need to exert effort and give a piece of ourselves each day sits deep in our core.
I’m incredibly interested in the moral value of sacrifice — and even wrote my last article on it. What you’ve captured here, though, is an excellent ode to the daily, often unseen sacrifice that makes our lives worth living. Great article!
Thanks for reading, Rose! You eloquently captured the essence of this essay: "unseen sacrifice that makes our lives worth living." I really love that. It's what we do unseen and unknown to others that makes our lives rich and deep, proud and happy. Your latest piece sounds great, going to check it out now :)
I love this, Jack! The rent is due every single day.
Absolutely, John. You skip a payment, you pay the price mentally, emotionally, and physically. Thanks for reading.
Love this topic and beautiful essay mon frere. Sacrifice has loomed large on my mind this year. Its invention. Its necessity. You could go as far to say as the line between the successful and the unsuccessful across human history is drawn by their proclivity to sacrifice.
The idea that we can barter with the future. Trade something today for something in store tomorrow.
And poke fun at ancient sacrifice of animals - as we’ve psychologized it now and moved it up a level of abstraction - but actually slaughtering a sheep is a serious affair and hits the message home: of the seriousness of giving up something of value today, to appease the future tomorrow.
Thanks Tommy, I always love to hear your reflections on my writing. You said it well my brother. Sacrifice now and be rewarded later. With the right mindset and practice, one can even find joy in the midst of sacrifice.
We laugh at ancient sacrifice but, ironically, now we are sacrificing our own very souls to modernity (things like news and social media) for the profit of companies and the destruction of our humanness.
"The parent sacrifices their time, money, and freedom to raise their child and is rewarded with purpose, personal growth, and profound unconditional love for another human being." As a parent I was so excited to hear about the rewards that will be coming. Is there a form I need to submit? When do they start?
HA! You must have missed the signup sheet, Rick. As a non-parent myself, I can only hope these things are true!
: )
Interesting thoughts. But how to know what to sacrifice…? Sacrifice the friendship, or the privacy you enjoy by letting a friend temporarily live with you? Sacrifice the nap or the time you’d need to take it?
Great questions, Amanda. I'm not sure I have the answer for everyone. But for me, when I've made the sacrifices that allow me to be at my best (exercise, sleep, proper eating, showing kindness to others, etc.), I can usually hear voice from within that knows what the right thing to do is. Then I go through the gut/heart/head check. But when I'm not in my peak state, when I have not sacrificed what I know I need to, that voice is clouded over.
“It’s in the subtraction of something valuable from the giver and the loss and hardship that the one giving must endure.”
Such a great perspective Jack.
Thank you, James. That lesson came out in the process of writing this piece and, though not a new insight for humankind, it was a big realization for me.
A joy to work with you on this one! Especially love the idea that it's a battle that must be fought anew each day. And I also admire how tight you kept this essay...it's a cool point and a quick read.
It's always a joy to work with you pal, thank you for your edits on this piece! I love that idea too. It's one of the ideals I live by, an unspoken belief, that I am most certain of. Because when I don't fight the battle--daily exercise, for example--I suffer for it in a far greater way than if I just made the sacrifice I know I need to make.
Totally, I think everyone knows that feeling of leaving the sacrifice left undone. Hurts.
The Daily Sacrifice! Love that you have used fitness as this is a tough one, committing to the daily grind of sweat and sacrifice for mental and physical wellbeing. Really, all of life’s essential tasks fit your sacrificial metric. Blood, sweat and tears! It’s a beautiful Life!!
Thanks for reading, Dad. Love the idea that all of life’s essential tasks fit the sacrificial metric. It is a beautiful life. More accurately, it's a beautiful life FOR THOSE WHO SACRIFICE!
This: “But the significance of sacrifice isn’t in the addition of something to the realm of the Gods. It’s in the subtraction of something valuable from the giver and the loss and hardship that the one giving must endure.”
Thank you
Thank you so much for reading and for dropping in the comments here, Willy. Of all the lines in this essay, I'm glad that's the one that stuck out to you. It was a big realization I made in the writing of this essay.
“I know I’m sacrificing when my knee-jerk reaction is avoidance.” - very interesting Jack. I see sacrifice sometimes as just choice. I am sacrificing what I don’t do with what I dodo. The historical spiritual value of the act is certainly a reflection of its value - even today we continue to talk about sacrifice in sports a d life as virtuous. The magical to it all is weird if nothing else. Did Mr. Meebles the goat eating god need all the blood to the alter of him imagined? Do the governments truly need the sacrifice of their military babes to stay whole? Is a sacrificial death valiant or unnecessary? I think also of the 80hour worker and the sacrifice they make to “raise” their family. What if they had sacrificed the “raise” at work instead? Awareness of our sacrifices and what their value is seems important if for nothing else but to help us know our values and purpose. Great read.
So spot on 'Fis: "I am sacrificing what I don’t do with what I dodo." Everything is a tradeoff. Our choices are valuable because we choose the one choice among the infinite others we could have chosen. The same applies to relationships, romantic, friendships, or otherwise. When we commit to one person, or one anything, the value comes from our commitment to that thing and our sacrifice of all of the other things.
Awareness of the sacrifices we are making, as you point out, sits at the crux of it. Thanks for reading and for learning me, brother. I appreciate you.
Good stuff Jack. I’ve been an atheist all my life and I pretty much buy into this model. I sometimes use the term “suffering” instead of “sacrifice,” but it’s the same idea.
Thanks so much, Tom. I too, a non-religious man all of my life, have learned to buy into this model. I don't think there is any other way. If you want to live a meaningful life filled with of good mood days, you must suffer/sacrifice. I don't see any other way, no matter how advanced technology gets. The need to exert effort and give a piece of ourselves each day sits deep in our core.
I’m incredibly interested in the moral value of sacrifice — and even wrote my last article on it. What you’ve captured here, though, is an excellent ode to the daily, often unseen sacrifice that makes our lives worth living. Great article!
Thanks for reading, Rose! You eloquently captured the essence of this essay: "unseen sacrifice that makes our lives worth living." I really love that. It's what we do unseen and unknown to others that makes our lives rich and deep, proud and happy. Your latest piece sounds great, going to check it out now :)