The Power of Sacrifice

Sometimes, I'm good at it and sometimes, I'm not.

Right now, I'm shoveling peanut butter M&M's into my mouth like a crack fiend...so, you could say that my will power is limited.  Thank God, I didn't give up chocolate for Lent.

But other times, and particularly when I'm quiet with myself, I feel the power of sacrificial choices I've made in my life.  Decisions to take the harder path or the road less traveled.

And what I've learned, even when it's painful, is that ultimately, it's good to do without. 

It's important to let go of those things that move me away from that which is most important....my faith, my family, my health, my inner most passions.

And yet, it's not easy.

I like to eat.  I like to spend money.  I like to long for days past.  I like to be lazy.  I like to procrastinate.  I like to talk...alot...and many times, waste time not taking action.

And so it really is with bated breath, that I weigh the concept of whether true happiness emerges with the recognition that you have only one life and it is meant to be lived fully by diving in, throwing caution to the wind, doing what your heart screams...or whether, it's best to feel the desire, spend time with it, assess it, and then act or not depending upon your evaluation.

My hunch is that it's a combination of both.

The challenging part is to know when to say no and to simply do without.

Sacrificial teachings are powerful.  They tend to stay with us longer than the impulsive gulping of what we want, when we want.

Which is why, I have to physically remove these M&M's from my hand...sometimes, I know I'm just not strong enough to say no.