“Everywhere I’ve turned somebody has wanted to sacrifice me for my own good—only they were the ones who benefited. And now we start on the old sacrificial merry-go-round. At what point do we stop?”
― Ralph Ellison
When have you realized that the sacrifice asked of you was not worth it?
Every risk is a sacrifice of the known for the unknown, a sacrifice of safety for the sake of possibility. It is dangerous and often foolhardy and utterly essential.
What leap have you taken lately?
“My father told me once that the most important thing every [person] should know is what [they] would die for.”
― Tana French
What would you be willing to die for?
Many of the world’s religious traditions involve giving offerings to gods or ancestors, sharing physical goods with beings who have no physical form. If gods and ancestors cannot partake of what is physically given, perhaps they are sustained by the act of sharing in and of itself.
When have you been moved by someone’s choice to be generous with you, whether or not you needed what they were offering?
There is a law of the seas that the captain must be ready to go down with the ship, to sacrifice their own safety and even their own life for the sake of the ship and its crew. It’s a noble sentiment, but sometimes our sense of duty leads us to stick with failing a relationship or endeavor far past what good sense would dictate.
What ship has taken you down?
