Thoughts on Sacrifice and Bliss
Sometimes life gives us reason to stop and look back on what wisdom we have gained during our journeys. I was recently given one such reason, and it caused me to pause and contemplate life and death, my own mortality, and how I am to accept these realities as a Jedi. I was compelled to explore my own journal for sparks of wisdom that could help light the path ahead of me. I discovered a response to the IP lesson focused on Joseph Campbell’s “Sacrifice and Bliss” that I feel is worthy of revisiting.
On first hearing the phrase while listening to Joseph Campbell, I immediately thought of the dichotomy of suffering versus happiness. Sacrifice has a negative connotation to it, while bliss is wonderful. It would follow then, that they are opposite, or at least in conflict with one another, right?
Instead, I have now come to understand them to be entirely interrelated. To follow one’s bliss requires a sacrifice of one kind or another, and out of that sacrifice, one can find bliss. The universal sacrifice we all make throughout our lives is that of time. Our time in these physical bodies is limited, and we are sacrificing every moment we spend doing something other than seeking our own bliss.
Early mythology born of a more agrarian culture speaks of the understanding that a plant must die in order to give additional life. The grown plant must wither and drop its seed into the ground for the next plant to grow. Old growth must be pruned to allow new growth. Out of the rot grows new life.
In contemplating my own existence, it makes sense to me that I would translate this idea into my own life experiences. The old must die to make room for the next generation. A mother must sacrifice herself to allow her young to thrive. We see the cycle of plant life reflected in our own experience. As I watch the continued regeneration of the plant season after season, I understand that I too will die, and yet human life will continue to regenerate in my place.
As I begin to wrap my mind around this idea, sacrifice and even death are no longer so frightening. To die in the flesh is merely giving the universe the room required to express itself another way, or continue “peopleing” as Alan Watts would put it. This body decays, but the human spirit lives on in the Force. The physical vessels that carry the spirit of mankind will die and decay as they are meant to, but they are reborn to continue the journey of the spirit. That spirit is in all of us. Or, perhaps a better way to say it is that we are all of one spirit. We are born of the Force.
So, I have now come to better understand the value of death as part of the cycle, and must ask myself how best to spend the life I have left in this body now. Joseph Campbell would say the answer is to seek and follow my bliss; find that which makes me happy, find the right people to share that happiness with, and never let that go. I cannot be afraid of what will happen later, as life is always on the edge of dying.
The value of this lesson is that it can help to provide a compass through this life when the path seems shrouded. If we are constantly seeking and following our bliss, we will remain on the right path. Regardless of the sacrifices that may be required, they will be worth it if we are experiencing joy. This should guide our professional, personal, and family lives. It should also serve as a reminder that Jedi do not merely seek their own bliss, but to also assist others in finding it themselves.
In this new year, as we race forward into yet another season of renewal and rebirth, I stand at the precipice of my own life and death focused on a simple idea; one question that continually enters my mind. How would today be different if everyone in the universe knew they were on a path toward their own personal bliss and were following it?
I imagine that world would be a much more harmonious place, and the sacrifices we make for each other every day would seem trivial. This is a world I want to see, and so today I encourage everyone willing to listen, make the sacrifices you must, but find and follow your bliss. Seek it with your whole heart. Help others to find theirs as well. Do not be afraid. Do not waste another moment asking yourself if the sacrifice is worth it. Follow your bliss. We will all be better for it, and always remember, the Force is with us.
