Sacrifice Comes in Many Ways
Most humans I have met do not see sacrifice as a positive behavior. They do see compromise as a beneficial behavior and trait to develop. I disagree. I conclude that compromise is a lose lose. Sacrifice, on the other hand, is a positive spiritual practice we all need to embrace.
Let’s begin with the teachings in metaphysics and spirituality from even before the 20th century. Our Egoic Lotus or monadic heart center is made up of three types of petals or facets. These three include knowledge, love, and will. As an Ego-personality, we unfold these petals as we learn and grow. When we have opened all 12 petals, we are fully developed as a spiritual human being. At this point, we’re ready to move on and individuate and express our divine nature.
The reason that I explain is that the will identified in the egoic Lotus is simply the practice of sacrifice. It is an intrinsic part of spiritual growth out of the normal human condition. I can tell that many of you are already frowning with a questioning eyebrow raised. Let’s begin in childhood. Almost every parent learns to teach, with multiple children, that they need to share with one another, sacrificing their selfish desires for the other. No one questions this as a positive behavioral trait to teach their children.
So what about adolescence? Developing personal friendships helps everyone build self-esteem, learn to love, and benefit from the positive effects of sharing and helping others with their difficulties in life. This is the first incident where sacrificing selfishness is recognized as a very positive behavior. I believe that most parents and adults would agree with me on this. Concentrated selfishness in any human being is a part of our human evil. And this human evil must be sacrificed in order for every human being to grow and prosper.
Most young single adults in their 20s clearly have a fairly self-oriented life. Looking for love, so to speak, becomes looking for someone who completes you. Except that most young adults have not really learned the importance of sharing and sacrificing for others. I believe that if you interviewed those who went to war in the 20th century who are still alive, they would confirm that they were told this was their sacrifice for their country and way of life. How many of them learned differently based on their experiences? I believe the Korean conflict was the last where that attitude held sway. And I would say those who re-enlisted multiple times during the Asian conflicts did not do it to sacrifice for their country or way of life. The real motivation is that they did it as a sacrifice for their friends and comrades. It became their job, just as their earlier schoolmates found jobs after school. And how many of them sacrificed their lives in the process?
Let’s move on to parenting. Most are highly conditioned to want to be parents. Many fewer are actually going to be good parents. And how many times have you heard parents say they were not prepared to be parents? It did not take long for these selfish human beings to learn that children require sacrifice by their parents. And the sacrifice goes beyond childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. It becomes a lifelong process.
My parents did exactly what they were conditioned to do with my sister and me. They began putting money aside for our college education when we were children, and we were not wealthy. My college education cost them $100,000 in 1970s money. And they paid it willingly and lovingly without regret. I call that a major sacrifice. Now I had exceptional parents. During my junior and high school years, my friends wanted my parents to be their parents. That tells how good my parents were.
Unfortunately, my sister would not agree with my assessment here. Let’s just say she had real trouble getting over her selfish nature. For you astrology buffs, her natal astrology chart has five planets in Leo in the 8th House. Hers was to be a life of sacrifice and regeneration from the selfish Leo to an unselfish Leo. She never really accomplished it. She has lived in the same house she bought in her late 20s and then lived through three husbands until now. She’s accomplished her ultimate pinnacle in life: she’s worth more than $1,000,000. Except she has few friends and no family.
If you didn’t get what I just said, I’ll explain it. Christ taught that we must leave our biological family to become part of the family of Christ. This is a major step and sacrifice for almost every human being. Only a few take it, and most fight their way through it. Mine was easy. I had the greatest parents in the world, and they gave me the freedom to pursue my life as I needed. How many parents do that with their children? Very few.
Let’s move on to middle age and the changes in attitude and orientation that happen in most people’s lives. For those who become very wealthy, the importance of family varies. For most, the family becomes more and more important as we age and realize we’re closer to death than birth. Unfortunately, most people hold onto their children rather than letting them fly free. I conclude that most do it because they do not see anything more valuable in life to pursue. And that’s unfortunate. We’ve all heard the truism: They like to live through their children and grandchildren.
As we move on to later life, how often do parents look forward to becoming grandparents? It’s like they have a new lease on life. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who didn’t look forward to becoming a grandparent, except me. I made the decision in my early 20s never to have children in this life, nor any life beyond it. I was then faced with marrying my second wife, who had three children, two of whom were under 13.
As an aside, I had to decide how to move forward in this new role. My decision was to offer them a choice. I could be their stepfather, their friend, or the man who married their mother. I bet you can guess which they chose and what the outcome was for each. And I tried to become what they said they wanted, but they were not willing to pay the price for it (sacrifice for it).
Let’s finally come to the end of life and see how many sacrifices are involved. It’s simple to say that the situation is reversed. The children must sacrifice for their parents in their dying years. And with medical technology to prolong life, regardless of its quality, this sacrifice can take decades to fulfill. The selfish just stick them in a retirement community or an old people’s home. How pathetic. Others just suffer through realizing this is payback for what their parents did for them (whether they liked it or not).
Unless an individual has very specific karma not resolved with their family members in this life, the soul moves on to its new challenge commitment for its growth and development. The Ego-personality just dies. Except for the Family entity, in which we will all live happily ever after in heaven for eternity. And how many families really want to look forward to that! And since the Ego-personality is dust to dust, the family is not there anyway.