RE: What is Love? ... "Sacrificial Love" ... Dimensions of Love #1
Love of my offspring, was a huge eye opener for me. I love my little one, well she's not so little anymore. I don't consider anything that I have done with/for her a sacrifice at all. I didn't have to grow to love her. It was something that I felt, this overwhelming rush of warmth and wonder and a truth in myself that I knew I would protect her and prepare her to deal with the world I brought her into. I wouldn't coddle her or shield her from the ugly, instead I would talk about all aspects of life with her, I wouldn't stump her development with lies and false pretense. I would give her the tools to be able to navigate this life. I would teach her to live her life with this in mind "treat others as you want to be treated." Having a child opened my eyes to how my parents loved me and how I could never take that for granted again.
Beautiful. I'm amazed to hear that it never feels like a sacrifice. How old is your daughter now? What have you learned about loving as a parent as she gets older?
She's a teenager now. There isn't anything new to learn as she gets older. My love hasn't changed one bit for her. It's constant the only difference is me just broadening her thinking, with heavier subject matter that I think she can handle. No it never feels like a sacrifice, because I chose to have her. With that decision I already loved her. I've sacrificed nothing. When I love someone there isn't a sacrifice, I am not giving up anything, I am gaining.
"When I love someone there isn't a sacrifice, I am not giving up anything, I am gaining."
Wonderful when it happens like this. Would you say this of all your loving relationships - family, lovers, friends, etc? Is this something that having your daughter changed for you?
I definitely resonate, and I try to prioritize relationships where "sacrifices" are really gains, but I feel like I do sacrifice from time to time for my loved ones, that I will do something I don't really want to, or give up something in order to care for them, or ride out some hard times that don't feel positive in the moment.
Yes having my daughter helped me along in not being selfish and enabled me to notice love. Love that I had taken for granted before. My family, I love them and anything I do for them purely comes from love. That isn't a sacrifice in my reality. We all have things we don't want to do, I view this as experiences, or maybe in that particular moment I just didn't feel like doing anything. Romantic Love I've recently discovered about 3 years ago. It's the same with him. Sure sometimes I don't want to do some of the things I need to do, or there's a step in our life that I'm not too convinced about, but I trust him and so we go forth. I don't view those things as a sacrifice, more like a step out of my comfort zone, if it works great, and if it doesn't it's an experience that I can call upon when we are faced with a similar issue in the future. Life is both negative and positive. We can't have one without the other. However, I appreciate them both and sacrifice doesn't feel like the right word in my reality to associate with my love.
Cool. Thank you for sharing so much of your personal experience.
Anytime, I like to talk about my experiences and hear other's as well. I'm always interested in what shapes a person. This was Pretty Cool jaredwood :)
Glad you got something out of it, brandi :) sounds like your loved ones are blessed to have you in their lives. I hope others have gotten to read this little exchange and be touched by your idea of love too.
Thank you that is really sweet. I'm glad I came across your post. I don't really comment a lot on here, but this was something I could definitely speak about first hand. This platform scared me initially because the people on here are so thought provoking and you can't just dial it in here. Love that about this place. Keep up the good work!!! :)