“They had no self-control, could not restrain

Themselves from wreaking outrages and pain

On one another, and counted among their vices

Neglect of the gods, the rightful sacrifices 

That men perform, as custom says they must;

And then Zeus hid these also in disgust

Because they would not give the gods their due.

And so the ground has covered this race too…”

— Works and Days, Hesiod (700 BC)

Origins of Sacrifice

For as long as humans have worshipped Gods, we have made sacrifices to appease them or to sway the course of nature in our favour.

Vedics surrendered cake, milk, animals, and soma-plant juice to their Gods.

Vikings sacrificed horses, dogs, hens, and humans to their Gods Odin, Thor, and Frey.

Ancient Greeks sacrificed cows, sheep, goats, pigs, birds, wine, and men to win over their Gods in times of disaster and war.¹

To the non-religious observer, as I am, sacrificing something to an unseen power, especially when it involves death, seems like a cruel waste. But the significance of sacrifice isn’t in the addition of something to the realm of the Gods. It’s in the subtraction of something valuable from the giver and the loss and hardship that the one giving must endure.

The Gods commend our sweat, suffering, and hard work. They demand us to give something our human nature does not want to give, something painful, something that would be easier to keep tucked away inside us. In return, when we sacrifice something we would rather not, they reward us.

And not all sacrifice is religious.

In modern culture we worship movies and real-life events in which the soldier sacrifices his life for his country, the player sacrifices his body for his team, and the romantic sacrifices his heart for love.

We admire and are inspired by sacrifice.

What is Sacrifice?

I know I’m sacrificing when my knee-jerk reaction is avoidance.

Sacrifice feels like lightly wrapping your hand around a cactus. Except when you squeeze, when you fully commit to the sacrifice and expect the thorns to draw blood, the spiky spines disappear and all that’s left in your hand is the syrupy sweet cactus fruit.

Exercise is one of the sacrifices I make each day.

There is rarely a day when I’m excited to lace up my running shoes. But I do it anyway. And once I do, my mood is better, my brain is sharper, I’m fitter, and I might live longer. Exercise enables me to be the best version of myself and to serve those I love at my highest capacity.

Whether you prefer to sacrifice in the name of the Gods or the Universe or the nameless human element inside you that demands sacrifice is up to you. I’m not religious, but I like the idea of sacrificing to a greater cosmic power I don’t understand but that impacts my life every day: the Gods.

God to me isn’t El, Allah, Lord Buddha, Vishnu, or the Christian God.

God is the part of me I don’t understand but that exists nonetheless. God is the part of me that looks up at the night sky and cannot fathom that the matter that is me is stardust.² God is the part of me that is being human in a way not so different than a ripple in the ocean is being a wave. God is all that is hidden from my sight and incomprehensible to my brain but that lives in the senses of my gut and my heart. God is wonder, awe, faith, and intangible wisdom.

Mood and Meaning

Though religion has died a swift death in the Western world, the need to sacrifice to avoid punishment and receive blessings is alive within us.³ 

Our mood and meaning stem from the sacrifices we make. The size of the commitment within the sacrifice determines which one it impacts.

Sacrifices that require short commitments determine our mood. My mood is earned through the hard things I do every day that would be easier to avoid doing altogether. If I appease the Gods through hard exercise, proper and kind conduct, modest eating, honest work, and enough sleep, I will be bestowed the daily gift of feeling vital, light, and optimistic about life. 

Sacrifices that require long-lasting commitments create meaning in our lives. The parent sacrifices their time, money, and freedom to raise their child and is rewarded with purpose, personal growth, and profound unconditional love for another human being. The spouse sacrifices themselves as an individual to merge their lives in union as one with their partner and receives companionship, love, support, and shared experiences.

Non-Sacrificers are Punished

The alternative to sacrifice is self-centred selfishness. A lack of sacrifice implies a constant fixation on servicing only your needs. Refusing to sacrifice and instead serving only yourself, in big and small, is a path to ruin.

If I shirk the Gods through skipped workouts and kind acts gone undone, they will punish my laziness with misery, anxiety, and depression. My headspace will sour and my mood will plummet. And if I refuse to make sacrifices in the form of long-term commitments, my life will lack meaning.

Those who sacrifice nothing but instead indulge in each daily impulse—social media scrolling, gluttonous eating, sedentary living, and selfish acting—are punished.

They are given meaningless lives of suffering that manifest in a hellish headspace.

The Daily Grind

There is good and bad news:

Each day the battle must be fought anew.

If yesterday was squandered and the Gods punished you for your unwillingness to sacrifice, you can redeem yourself today through hard work and good conduct. 

But you cannot relent. All sacrifices, short or life-long in their commitment, take the form of small actions repeated daily.

Every morning, you start at zero. Yesterday is forgotten and the daily battles must be fought again. You have to lace up your running shoes, put your partner before you, crack open a book, throw the chips in the trash, inconvenience yourself in service of kind acts, and make other sacrifices to earn a mind of peace and positivity and a life of meaning.

Then when you wake up tomorrow, you have to do it all again.

Your mood and meaning must be earned. Sacrifice something from within yourself each day, then let the thanks of the Gods rain down upon you.

With love,

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Thank you to Jeremy Scharf for your invaluable edits on the initial drafts of this piece.

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