On Sacrifice and Perception

I remember several years ago, I was sitting with a Cossack friend of mine catching-up on Life. We do not see each other too often and so there were lots of things to talk about. At one point, somehow the conversation came around to my practicing of abstinence and celibacy. He asked me for how long I was still going to go on with my nuttiness. I did not know what to say … not like I planned to be celibate for a certain amount of time … I have made my decision over a decade ago and it is how I live my Life.

I told him that my decision was firm and I had my reasons. Life becomes a little simpler when one is not chasing skirts. And above all I am a Warrior. Warriors do not often have a calm family life-style. A warrior has to be ready for anything at anytime. If Life takes a strange turn, the Warrior has to be ready to drop everything that he/she is doing and follow the signs presented without worrying where the path will lead him/her.

I remember my buddy looking at me gravely and saying:

“That is a lot to sacrifice … I mean, no family, no kids, no wife …”

His comment caught me by surprise. Sacrifice? I had never thought about that … I was sacrificing a family life with my decision? I did not see it that way.

I make choices in Life and I do not regret them. I chose my path and I sacrifice nothing. Sacrificing means giving-up on something and it has a certain connotation of one being a victim in a certain way. Haha!! I could be many things but not a victim of my own doing … Some people’s perception on Life makes me laugh.

If I am making a conscious decision to do something, I am not going to cry about what I am not going to get to do because of the decision I had just taken. A Warrior weighs his/her choices carefully before-hand so there are no regrets. A Warrior only gains when making choices; there are no losses because the intention is clear and his/her path has heart.

Within the last week, I had a short conversation on this topic with a lady who told me that she had sacrificed many things in her Life. She gave me a list actually. Between other things, she mentioned how she had sacrificed so much as a mother, even her body by giving birth.

I personally did not agree with that statement. Why do something and then, play the victim? Nobody forces anyone to have children. Thus, if the choice is made to have children, that is a choice made and not a choice imposed (unless we are talking about someone being raped or some vile circumstance of that sort). There is no point in my mind to cry the blues after the fact. Accept the choice made and leave the regrets and sacrifices aside as the choice was made freely (if the choice was indeed made freely).

I sacrifice nothing. As I told the lady with whom I was conversing about this matter, when I donate money to Greenpeace or when I put-in time as a volunteer, I do not regard my time and money as a sacrifice. I do it out of love and because I wish to do so. I make a clear decision and in no way am I sacrificing anything. I suppose it is all a matter of perception.

I am not sure why some people like to victimize themselves but that is how I perceive this idea of sacrifice. As long as a choice is not imposed on someone, there is no sacrifice. We all make choices and decisions and we should live happily with our decisions, in my opinion.

I wish everyone all the best! Cheers.