O que é espírito de sacrifício?
The word spirit derives from the Greek sopro. Sopro is that which gives life (sopro vitale, breath).
The word sacrifice derives from the Latin sacrificium, composed of sacer and ficium, which means ‘act of doing, manifesting the sacred’, or ‘act of passing from the profane sphere to the sacred sphere’.
In Portuguese, it means ‘deprivation, voluntary or forced’.
And sacro ofício means sacred work.
But having an office is different from having a service.
A vocation is doing what you have chosen to do, even if it involves many sacrifices.
Sacrifice and sacred office are what enrich you in every sense and also enrich the world.
But in a broader sense, how do we make sacrifices?
When we make choices that lead us to sacrifices.
For example: only those with a spirit of sacrifice and renunciation travel, because they will have to give up their home, comfort, accessories, food, habits…
But there are people who cannot tolerate sacrifice, yet they live in ‘suffering’.
And what is suffering?
Suffering derives from the Latin sufferre or ‘under chains, chained like a slave or prisoner’.
To suffer means to tolerate, endure, consent, conform, resign oneself and live in continuous and intense unhappiness.
When we are not aware of the choice we have made (and not choosing is a choice), we enter a state of deprivation and suffering.
Let me give you an example: there are people who ‘choose’ to travel to another country, but are not aware of their choice.
They want not only to enjoy the trip, but also to eat feijoada and sleep as if they were in their own beds.
At that point, they enter a state of suffering.
They experience the trip with feelings of loss rather than renunciation.
There are times when life asks us to be in a ‘spirit of sacrifice’.
Whether it is the choice to study, get married, have children, etc., we must think about the countless sacrifices we will make.
So, be careful not to fall into suffering!
Those who do not choose or who do not take responsibility for their choices, those who do not give up anything, suffer.
Those who behave like children, who throw tantrums with life when it is necessary to give up a game and go to bed.
But the fact is that human beings are very childish!
We want to have everything and we are not aware of our choices and possible sacrifices.
We experience everything as a loss and suffering!
Therefore, living in a spirit of sacrifice means living aware of our choices and the choice that Life has ‘offered’ us and, consequently, of the countless sacrifices we will make.
Texto: Jaqueline Cássia de Oliveira Psicóloga - CRP 04/7521 Psicoterapeuta Familiar Sistêmica (Brasil) Psicogenealogista (Itália)