Sacrifice is defined as:
An act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy: e.g. ‘we must all be prepared to make sacrifices.’ (1)
Sacrifice is an old fashioned idea. We associate it with punitive self-deprivation. It is a concept associated with misery and joylessness. However, the truth is that sacrifice is a natural phenomenon. We can’t really have anything unless we are willing to sacrifice something else.
If you plant a seed in the ground, a tree will become manifest from that seed. The seed sacrifices itself to the tree that will come from it. The seed is outwardly lost, destroyed; but the same seed which is sacrificed will be absorbed and embodied in the tree, its blossoms, fruit and branches. (2)
There can be no change without sacrifice, therefore, sacrifice is an agent of change.
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Photograph – Sunflower – U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-2097. Photographer: Reaves, Bill, 1934-
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(1) Online Oxford Dictionary
(2) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá – Promulgation of Universal Peace p. 470
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