Life seems to have it that every step towards anything worthwhile requires sacrifice

Life is about sacrifices. (Photo:Courtesy)

By Anne Mukei

What is the hardest thing you have ever had to do? What is the most difficult thing you have had to undergo? Which feat do you wonder how you accomplished?

Life is about sacrifices. We sacrifice our sleep to wake up early and earn a living, or go to school. We sacrifice our money for the fine things that surround us. We sacrifice comfort at the salon to look good. We sacrifice our energy and emotions to become people of substance.

Life seems to have it that every step towards anything worthwhile requires sacrifice. Great men in history have made it clear that without a certain amount of sacrifice; nothing of importance can be achieved.

That some leaders have considered giving up a portion of their salary to cut down on the State’s expenditure is a great move. It might seem like a drop in the ocean, but no action is ever wasted. That sacrifice is what will bless their intentions.

Many Christians are fasting during this period of Lent (a time when some Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline). There are those who have given up chocolate, alcohol, television, and social media — various pleasures, guilty or not.

If you have ever denied yourself something you like to indulge in, then you know how severe withdrawal symptoms can be. Yet it feels good to go through with a sacrifice and attain your purpose.

Giving up something you enjoy, whether good or bad for you, is a way of paying attention to what you need and what you do not. It also gives you a heightened sense of your surroundings; the sights, sounds, textures and even smells that you may have taken for granted.

And when you decide to go back to what you have been denying yourself, you return to it with a keener sense of what it is, knowing whether it is truly beneficial or not. The fact is, to be in tune with yourself, you cannot afford to have a habit take over your life.

Sacrifice initiates the process of discerning whether one can truly live without an obsession — healthy or otherwise. Just like we spring clean our homes, so do we need to spring clean our entire beings, if only to establish our strength of character and discover whatever level of tenacity we may possess.

Is it not liberating to unplug from the routine of everyday living and manner of thinking, if only for a bit, and see what kind of person we become without that which is familiar?