On a recent visit to the medieval town of Stein in Germany, a painting on a building caught my attention. On researching it, I found that it was a symbolic motif called the “Pelican in Her Piety.” In Christian art, the pelican became a powerful symbol of sacrifice, and it was believed that the pelican would wound herself to feed her chicks with her blood and keep them alive.
Each one of us carries the capacity to sacrifice, but what is worth reflecting on individually with full honesty is how much of a spirit of sacrifice we have. We often view sacrifice as giving up to our detriment, but understood correctly, sacrifice benefits us by enabling our growth, as much making a difference to someone else. Our willingness and ability to invoke this spirit may well unlock hidden potential and emotional knots we may be carrying.
Sacrifice comes from love. The conviction to give up can only be sustained when our love for the person or purpose is so large that in spite of hardships and challenges, the spirit never dies; in fact, our strength increases with challenges. And whenever we operate from love, unknowingly, we are tapping into the most powerful force within, bringing out qualities even we did not realise we possess. Sacrifice builds us.
It comes from determination. Whether it be sacrificing a wrong lifestyle for better health, or sacrificing comfort to change the world, giving ourselves a worthy goal in life and subordinating everything else to that makes us focused and disciplined. Sacrifice shapes us.
It comes from making someone else the reason and taking the attention off oneself. Whenever our energy and attention flow outwards, we are dissolving our ego. Sacrifice purifies us.
To make someone feel obligated and grateful is not sacrifice. To look for recognition and praise is not sacrifice. To complain and make someone feel guilty is not sacrifice. To keep reminding people around us how much we are doing and giving up is not sacrifice. To be bitter after giving is not sacrifice. True sacrifice is self-fogetfulness.
And to truly understand sacrifice, we need not go far. All we have to do is remind ourselves of everything our mother has done for us. We will then understand a simple fact of life – sacrifice is pure love in action.
(Picture – Stein, Germany)
My father in law when asked the reason for his and his brothers unity in business even after 80 years was
“Sacrifice “ with a capital S