First off, a very happy Easter to one and all! As we sit with our family and enjoy the festivities of the day, besides the usual celebrations we need to draw our attention to what exactly this day means. Yes, today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ but what exactly is the deeper meaning? What exactly do we remember at Easter? It is the depth of love and the unyielding sacrifice that is symbolic of Jesus dying on the cross, only to rise and give hope to a world in turmoil. Every festival of every religion has a very strong message of compassion which we need to keep reminding ourselves of every now and then. Sacrifice in this context is giving up something valued for the sake of other considerations. The giving up encompasses surrendering something of value. We have all been given the opportunity to exert this power on many occasions. The question of actually making use of this power is what we need to closely examine.
Each one of us have heard all the stories, listened to every moral and even tried various means to better ourselves. However, to make a small change needs a whole lot of work and most of us don’t really allow ourselves to hold on long enough for it to become part of us. When I say soul searching here, I mean very categorically searching. Yes, we know what and how much a sacrifice means. Or do we really? When we look at our own lives do we really understand what this word (sacrifice) entails? A mother depriving herself by eating the smaller share of the food she loves just because her child loves the same is sacrifice, so is willing to spend an extra half an hour of your time to cheer up a friend who has had a bad day. Each one of us are giving beyond our imagination but we fail to look and appreciate ourselves for the wonder that is us.
Life is not always only about self-improvement and becoming better. It largely also entails rediscovering ourselves and appreciating who we really are. Sacrifice is of varying degrees and not all of us has the means to give up so much of ourselves for the greater good. However, there are still those who take up the job of laying down their lives for their countries, those who deprive themselves the luxuries of life to maybe give a small amount to those less fortunate, those who work tirelessly for little or no pay to educate and brighten the lives of those who are to be our future, those who put aside their needs constantly for the betterment of their nation and thus the world. Yes, the world is full of the altruistic and what we need to do is look at ourselves and be aware that we too, to some degree find ourselves to be the givers in some way or form to someone at some time. Giving and sharing are cornerstones of what makes us human. We deny to ourselves the depth of our goodness. Today, people prefer to overlook their own positives and instead look at their negatives and those of others as well. There is a reason why there are so many people suffering from stress related ailments. We don’t give ourselves the food our soul needs and a little bit of a pat on the back is a great way to boost your spirits.
One of the most difficult things for most of us to do is to pen down a few of the things that make us great. We constantly look outward for the opinions of others and yes because of our paranoid nature we tend to search for ulterior motives to a compliment. Our battle lies within. We constantly worry that we may sound like we are bragging or being impolite by highlighting our positives. Instead, coming up with a list of our negatives is much easier. We need to get rid of this feeling once and for all. We need to convince ourselves that being truthful about who we are will open allies that you never knew existed. We need to accept that we are all precious. There is a reason why Jesus died on that cross for us. The truth is we are all innately good and we only slip at times when we do wrong. This day is about love and sacrifice, about seeing the happiness that results from toil, about looking within and appreciating who we are as much as we appreciate those around. A great time to look within and search our souls. To appreciate that yes, we too are capable of great things if only we believe in ourselves and in our purpose.
