13/2/2023

But just in case you have limited time now, here’s my thought for this week:
“This week I want to talk to you about sacrifice again. But this week, I want to show you how sacrifice often involves selfnessness and having to sacrifice yourself in some way.
As I said, people often have these fantasies that they can have everything in life. But this is totally unrealistic, because, as I have also said, you usually have to sacrifice one thing for another. But now I am talking about sometimes needing to be selfless and sacrifice yourself.
For example, we too often take things for granted and don’t realise just how much other people, especially parents, may have sacrificed for us. We can even sometimes find ourselves internally or externally criticising them for not sacrificing for us more. But we should be praising them, not criticising them!
And it is not always elders who sacrifice for youngers; sometimes it is youngers who sacrifice for elders. Like children born into poverty who leave school early and go to work, in order to support their family, or children with abusive parents in some way – they often sacrifice their childhood.
I have noticed though that the younger you are, the more that you feel entitled to something, without having to sacrifice anything for it. But you then start to have more insight into the concept of sacrifice as you grow older, usually when becoming a parent yourself.
I also heard it once said that the difference between successful and unsuccessful people, is that successful people are more willing to sacrifice. But I have also seen people consider themselves or others to be successful, yet being a difficult character to live with, work with, or be in public.
Personally, I don’t believe you are successful if you sacrifice relationships, or what others think of you. You can only consider yourself successful where you are first a nice person, even if sacrificing things you want like money or fame, or not getting to the top of your chosen field.
Finally, remember, self-sacrifice is not logical when you think about it, as we are so used to always putting ourselves before others. Also, remember again that some people will always be better at self-sacrifice than others.
So, this week, remember that true sacrifice often requires selflessness, which may sometimes include not doing something that you want to do, or being someone that you want to be, just because you don’t want to jeopardise relationships, or how other people see you!”




