Whats the biggest sacrifice you've ever made for another person?

I'm curious to know, what was your defining selfless moment in life? I've been giving this a lot of thought lately, and I think it would do everyone some good to ponder on it.

Give it some serious thought.

The various stories ATSers will hold for this will be amazing.

Biggest sacrifice of your life--

Go!

Hmm.. difficult to say any specific time .. over the years been shot a few times while treating patients in war zones .. adopted and raised four war orphans and presently raising two fukushima orphans .. but I dont consider any of it to be sacrifices .. just tried making the world a little better along the way .. at 70 now am mostly retired ..

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


Personally, I think people 'sacrifice' for three reasons.

1) So you can make sure every body hears about it, and knows what an 'awesome' person you are. ( Stroking your own ego.)

2) To make people fell indebted to.you; (You owe me! look at all the things I've done for you!)

3) Out of love, from the heart. ( A very private matter that is its' own reward.) Then it is not a 'sacrifice', IMO.

Wouldn't telling kind of ruin the sacrifice? I would feel like asking for praises, when any sacrifices I've made were to help.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


I gave someone my last rolo!

I can't claim the tremendous kindness the 'Japanese' guy earlier in this thread has done or anything like what he has achieved, but I think throughout life we all make small sacrifices that help others. Its really about one's attitude to selfishness that motivates sacrifices for me and I believe in the gentle kindness that many people show when it is needed most.

How big is any sacrifice when 2,000 years are enough to make people forget what you've lost for their gain? Let's not focus on the particular implications of that inferred example, but rather the principle in it. 2,000 years is enough to make people forget what was lost, and what was gained in exchange for that loss. 2,000 years of not having to lose is enough to dull the memory of having lost. Dulling the memory of having lost dulls the memory of having gained. And that's when we take our gain for granted. And that's when the sacrifice is forgotten.

So tell me, since I have made no sacrifices that would even begin to compare to what others here have done....what have I lost in not making any sacrifices? I ask this question to better illustrate the point of this thread.

Technically helping someone is not a sacrifice. You personally gain from it, it makes you feel better about yourself. Sacrifice is paying more taxes than are due because you do not claim deductions you are entitled to...wait, maybe that is stupidity.

A person being a hero is different, they risk their lives to save others.

I gave someone a cigarette when I only had a few left.
Firepiston

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


I'll have to think about this one. Most people are dicks.

FirePiston
I gave someone a cigarette when I only had a few left.
Firepiston

I don't know if that was a joke but LOL!

reply to post by AfterInfinity

So tell me, since I have made no sacrifices that would even begin to compare to what others here have done....what have I lost in not making any sacrifices? I ask this question to better illustrate the point of this thread.

You haven't lost anything but opportunities.

You can't lose the feeling of honest self sacrifice until you gain it first.



I'm very much enjoying reading the different perspectives here, too.

I gave her my Johnson, over and over again and again.

reply to post by HUMBLEONE


I think that was "HER" sacrifice. The question was what did "YOU" sacrifice.

I was living in Las Vegas, short story long, I moved to an extended stay hotel to be close to work on the spur of the moment.

I walked to the outlet mall to buy socks. I took the bus home. It was cold out, not Michigan cold but cold. On the bus was a man with no shoes. or socks...
I ripped opened the pack and took a couple pair and gave him the rest.

ok may not be huge but I really needed those socks.

XxNightAngelusxX
I'm very much enjoying reading the different perspectives here, too.

I think thats the interesting thing about a thread like this, its bound to get responses that really tell a story.

I see no need to share events where I have helped others, or sacrificed for them. The people I help generally dont even know what happened, which is intentional. It could be small things, some big things, and some in between. But I try not to ever miss an opportunity. I focus on those who are willing, but unable, to help themselves. Random acts without even knowing the recipient are fun too though.

I have a lot of things I want to release, which could help a lot of people. I have tried to think of ways to do it anonymously, but in the end, I think that open source is a better option. Culturally, we dont really actively enable anonymous sacrifice and giving, especially when it comes to inventions rather than acts of largesse.

Whats also fun about a thread like this is it can inspire ideas that someone may not have thought about before.

Thanks for posting

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


I had a slight shift of perspective, and my answer has changed somewhat - my sacrifice happens every day that I don't strive to break another mile marker, for someone will do it in my place and earn that medal, that reward I don't bother to take for myself. I have sacrificed my chances at a better life, given up opportunities to have more and settled for what I already have. I daresay that at some point, someone has taken my place and made that their own better life. Imagine if I had taken those opportunities. A job, a house, a promotion, a girlfriend, a vacation, whatever it is that I might have gotten that might have changed the course of my life just enough...someone else got it. Someone else got it because I chose not to take it. That counts as a sacrifice, right?

...Wow. I've made a lot of sacrifices in that sense. I kinda feel like a real schmuck.

justreleased
reply to post by HUMBLEONE

 

I think that was "HER" sacrifice. The question was what did "YOU" sacrifice.

Why was it her sacrifice? I did all the work!

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


I reckon about the most selfless thing I ever did was probably when I went round all the homeless people on the High Street, oh... got to be nearly ten years ago now, and bought them all dinner. I was living on the streets myself at the time, but I had a little money. I could have made it last longer if I had not have spent it on everyone else, but I would have felt bad eating, knowing that those folks were going hungry, and I could have helped. It did not happen just the once, but pretty much any time I had enough money to afford enough stuff from Burger King to feed everyone!

Its either that, or the time I took a beating that had previously been aimed at a mate of mine. Five guys jumped him at a party, I ran over there and bulldozed them off, and then they mauled me for a bit until another friend of mine came and pulled me out, bleeding from my lips, nose, ear, and a gash on the top of my skull. I took FULL advantage of the NHS that night, but I stopped my friend from getting a nasty beating, and let me tell you, my face was pretty meh before hand. I figured he had more to loose than I did from the kicking

Was told in a roundabout way that a young woman from our circle of friends had "forgotten" to pay rent for three months.

She had been given last notice and was to move out a couple of days later.

I negotiated with her landlord, paid the rent and she was allowed to stay.

My wife and I later told her that she didn't have to repay the debt.

The young lady learned from her mistakes and is now very good with her money.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


Two things come to mind for me - well, one was an almost sacrifice. Both were rewarding in my own eyes.

1. I sacrificed my happiness for about a year for an ex. At the time, we were together, but the start of that year was painful - she was not in a good spot, there were rumors that her dad had cheated on her mom multiple times, and several family upsets. I probably should have broken it off then, but something stayed my hand. When someone's in that fragile of a mind, I can't part off with them - So I waited till things were looking better (her friend got divorced from a, well jerk of a guy that made me look like an angel; her parents finally split and her mom was in a position to support her). I found out later that she sort-of knew what I was doing, but didn't want to push the issue. Instead, she gave me my space, and consciously started hanging out with her friends more towards the end, so it was an almost painless transition from being in a relationship to single again.

Why this was important to me: I learned a lot about myself while pretending to be happy - sometimes, you need to have a really bad experience in order to know how long you can last. If I can survive a year with a pain in my side, think of how easy it'll be for me to survive the zombie apocalypse

2. I almost sacrificed several fingers to help a stranger out. The brief summary on this one is I was out walking on a cold night like tonight, in a hoodie and some not-so-insulating gloves (I believe they are called hunter's gloves; yarn gloves with a mitten overlay). It was about 2am in the morning, and I was out because snow had just fallen, and no-one was out (when I like my walks). I ran into a guy who's bag had ripped among several, and he looked in so much pain it made me forget my own numb hands.

Long story short, I picked up the bags, and had him tell me where he lived (it was about another mile away, in an apartment complex where I was told to never be in after dark...oops). By the time I got there, I was practically carrying him (he was low on blood sugar?) and the bags. I stayed at the apartment just long enough to make sure he wouldn't die upon getting in. And ran back home.

My poor fingers - pinkies were starting to turn blue, and the others were so cold they chilled the air as soon as I walked in the door. Another couple minutes, and I'd be in the hospital - think crunching my fingers in the screen door hurt less than bringing the fingers back from the dead.

Here's the selfless part - I found out while walking him back that he didn't have a car, all the groceries he was carrying was all he could afford for the next couple weeks, and may have been into drugs, and admitted to at least some jail time. Didn't care - he was getting home alive under my watch, or we'd both be dead. Looking back, I can say I was pretty stupid; dangerous neighborhood, helping a felon, no-one out that late. But when someone is howling in pain because he had to walk miles in the cold weather, and looks like he's about dead and mumbling (learned in boy scouts that if you are not able to pronounce words, you need to get inside asap, because once the cold is on your mind, your willpower to get to your destination is shot), I'm willing to help. I'd do it all again, if it ever comes to that.

-fossilera
PS: Whew, didn't think that was going to be a long post. Sorry for the long read, guys & gals; guess I over-thought the question.