There is nothing heroic or altruistic about making a sacrifice and letting go of something or someone you really, truly love. Stop trying to compare your very normal, timid human existence with that of our brave soldiers fighting day in and out at the border to protect people and keep the country safe. That, is an act of altruism. Not you living in the false belief that you have made a sacrifice, by listening to the people who discouraged and demotivated you to pursue a career where your heart actually still lies; or asked you to leave the woman your heart really pines for just because of factors like caste, religion etc. You have made no sacrifice, you have just let go.
If you have let society and people tell you what is best for you and have complied, you simply are a person with no mind of your own. You have a weak personality and sense of self. You have done no sacrifice that is going to yield some greater, bigger good much later in your life or in your next birth. If you did not have what it takes to fight for what you love, you are no soldier. And no, repeated acts of such sacrifices do not make people want to sympathise with you or make you a braver, more altruistic soldier. In fact you are only proving time and again, how weak a person you are; how inconsistent and unreliable you are.
Have a better story to tell your kids someday. Have a chain of stories of how you fought for the course you wanted to study when everyone else stood against you, how you fought for the career you wanted to pursue when no body supported you, of how you fought for the city you wanted to settle in when everyone else said it was a bad idea, of how you fought for the woman you love without letting go of her and keeping her in your life when the world tried to work against you.
Have such stories of heroism to tell so your kids look up at you like you are a true hero who fought to keep everything you love in your life. Have such stories to tell so your kids look up at you like we look up at the soldiers who fight for us bravely everyday. Every kid loves a superhero and does not want to listen to how you made sacrifices over and over and let go of things dear. That's a boring sob story that no body wants to listen to.
If you have let society and people tell you what is best for you and have complied, you simply are a person with no mind of your own. You have a weak personality and sense of self. You have done no sacrifice that is going to yield some greater, bigger good much later in your life or in your next birth. If you did not have what it takes to fight for what you love, you are no soldier. And no, repeated acts of such sacrifices do not make people want to sympathise with you or make you a braver, more altruistic soldier. In fact you are only proving time and again, how weak a person you are; how inconsistent and unreliable you are.
Have a better story to tell your kids someday. Have a chain of stories of how you fought for the course you wanted to study when everyone else stood against you, how you fought for the career you wanted to pursue when no body supported you, of how you fought for the city you wanted to settle in when everyone else said it was a bad idea, of how you fought for the woman you love without letting go of her and keeping her in your life when the world tried to work against you.
Have such stories of heroism to tell so your kids look up at you like you are a true hero who fought to keep everything you love in your life. Have such stories to tell so your kids look up at you like we look up at the soldiers who fight for us bravely everyday. Every kid loves a superhero and does not want to listen to how you made sacrifices over and over and let go of things dear. That's a boring sob story that no body wants to listen to.
Wow. This is an excellent piece. Well said, Remya
ReplyDeleteThank you Babli!
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