The Proper Sacrifice for Life to Flourish
What can we do to make our lives awesome.
One of the greatest achievements of mankind is the realization that there is an order to the Universe. In 6th Century BC Pythagoras formally postulated the idea that the fabric of reality was harmonious, and it could be known and acted upon. However, it may well go way back to our primordial ancestors, and it was religious intuition that gave it form. One of the most exemplary examples is the Jews trying to sail their way through life that would eventually revolutionize the field of ontology.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1: 1-4
Europe (1794), William Blake
As above, so below; or we can say: as outside, so inside. We encompass inside us the whole universe. Like Rumi states with genius: You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the ocean in a drop. You are called in your life of chaos, to put order and separate light from darkness, or wheat from the shaft. If you don’t, chaos will flow rampantly; if and when you do, you will recognize it as good.
There is order in the process of creation, the Logos[1] orders the initial chaos. First intent, followed by the postulate put forward (the Logos) and then the following action creating the Universe.
Is it so different from our experience of everyday life?
Think about it carefully.
You wake up every morning to go to work or study or whatever you do, why do you do it? Why not steal, cheat, or foul your way to get what you want? Because there is something inside you that believes you can make tomorrow better if you work “diligently” at whatever you do. Intent! But we fondle at it randomly, following “the rules” of culture, customs and what others do, and go at it aimlessly.
But, if we want to create something out of our lives, we would not just jump out of bed, take a shower and get dressed to start the day. We would take stock of the day, focus on our greater objectives ahead. Confirm what we can do to increase the probability of achieving what we aim for in greater spheres in our lives, chop it down in small sections. Give thanks for the opportunity and go at it wholeheartedly.
Now if you were really serious, you would do that before going to bed to help your psyche work it out in your subconscious.
Newton (1805), William Blake
What is the Proper Sacrifice so life can flourish?
Yes, we wake up every morning and do what is needed to start the day. For many, it may be making breakfast for the family and taking the kids to school, for others it is planning the day, for others… you get the idea. Some days you “feel” more spirited and others less so. But you do what you have to “almost” every single day. The question remains, why do you do it? Habit, needing to put food on the table or paying the bills, or maybe a summer vacation or a brand new toy you want.
How do we make our everyday purposeful enough so the outcome will be better than what we have today? The recipe for your sacrifice to compensate the effort you put into it is complex, but there are some strokes we can make to get on the right track towards a successful life.
FIRST: are you grateful for what you have?
If you live your life with gratitude, you will attract abundance all around. Simple things like a smile while greeting someone or being consciously thankful when someone assists you, or welcoming a situation even if you cannot see its immediate benefit, goes a long way to order your mind and will. An open and welcoming attitude to everything in life is the atomic fusion to drive a profound shift in your life.
SECOND: are you clear what you are aiming for and what your priorities are?
No one says it better than Jordan Peterson, a huge part of the reason why people fail is because they don’t ever set up the criteria for success; since success is a very narrow line, the probability that you would stumble on it randomly is zero.
What would you need to do to make your life worth all the trouble it takes to wake up every morning and live through it? Envision that, and make every possible sacrifice you need to, to make it a real possibility.
THIRD: do you see victims and perpetrators all around you?
”I don’t get to where I should because of how I was raised, or my boss, or the economy, or my spouse”, the list is endless. Assume responsibility for everything that happens to you. We live our lives avoiding accountability in every way we can. It is embedded in our DNA through millions of years of evolution. When you take responsibility, you stand tall, and when you do you are noticed, and your survival is greatly decreased, since mimicking and camouflaging yourself with everything that surrounds you allows you to survive and not be prey to predators. You can and will be aimed at when you stand tall. Take responsibility and stand on your own and say, here it stops! When you do that, the process begins to clear the sky of clouds and storms that impede you to advance, and your sun rises. You begin to separate the darkness from the light.
Анна Рыжкова, @Pexels
Now we come to the “sacrifice part”.
The consequence of going at life aimlessly, working all day or week to have time to watch TV, or go hiking, or have a weekend escape, or go to your favorite restaurant, or buy a toy is catastrophic in the long term.
There is nothing wrong with those experiences being part of life, but if they are the objective of your aim, if you act as if your days are only here for the pleasure you derive from the time you invest in life, you will be lost! You will find a pay-toll sooner or later. You will pay a high price and when confronted with profound adversity or a grave crisis (and it will come), you will not be prepared for it. Then you will make that empty scream at the sky: why me? Or self-righteously scream life is unfair!
Now you have been warned!
So, it is precisely the vision of life that is there for you to extract as much pleasure and satisfaction as you can that you need to sacrifice. You need to invest your best in what is truly important, so you can be prepared and achieve what is truly meaningful.
We have this idea that if we could catch a break, we would be better off. If we could win the lottery or our boss would quit, or if we were offered a new position or a raise, or… you pick! Things are not going to get easier; you need to get better at life. The Universe is the tension between chaos and order. Things disorganize and crumble of their own accord. You have a body, because in you nature has resisted change and decay. Life is a driving force that challenges chaos and decay. Consciousness is the miracle of Life that allows us to be collaborators with the Creator to complete the Universe… by completing ourselves.
To live fully, you better lean into change and resist decay, in other words, SACRIFICE!
We have a job or something we do, and we do as little as we can to go by and claim the rewards. It may be an imperfect job, your boss is not a team leader, the management of the company is disconnected from the workforce or the street reality. So, you have the perfect excuse to do as little as you are asked, to get by and get your paycheck. Sacrifice calls on you to do the best you can in your position, to your workmates or clients, be patient with whatever is thrown at you. Do not be affected by other workers that don’t like the job and make it clear. Take the responsibility and make the hours you work so you can be proud of yourself.
Jacob’s Ladder (1805), William Blake
Aim as high as you can envision. What is the greatest value you can muster? Do not let anything come between you and your aim. You will fall, you will be brought to your knees, at times you will find life to be overbearing. Keep getting up and start over. Assume as much responsibility as you can and pursue that vision. That is the adventure of why you were born.
If you do so, you will separate light from darkness and be able to say: it is good!
This is what we should teach in schools.
That is what humanities and great thinkers teach you.
COMING NEXT WEDNESDAY…
Life is like that!
You do one thing well, and you fake all the rest.
[1] The Greek word λόγος, or logos, is a word with various meanings. Heraclitus (c. 535 – 475 B.C.E.) is the first Greek who uses the term logos, he meant the principle of the cosmos that organizes and orders the world that had the power to regulate the birth and decay of things in the world (https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/).
A short explanation that illuminates what Logos is in human context, Jordan B. Peterson: