When we say that someone gave their life for something, we usually mean a particular event.
We think of a person sacrificing themselves to support a specific principle, or help specific people. Countries send young people into combat knowing that they may be giving their lives for their country. Law enforcement officers and firefighters may give their lives to protect us, even though they have never met us.
When we talk about someone giving their life for someone or something, we are usually talking about how their life ended.
It is often not the way a life ends that best describes it. Focusing on the end of their life does not give their sacrifice the honor it deserves.
The lives that are given include much more than how they end, each moment of each day. They give all their experiences and emotions, their thoughts and secrets, their passions and wisdom, their abilities and desires.
The truth is that we are each giving our lives. Some of us give them in dramatic, public ways. Some give them in quieter, more mundane ways. Some of us go out in a blaze of glory while others die in their sleep. It is not always the end of life that reflects our sacrifice.
Some of us give our lives for our children, and their children. Some give lives seeking to make more money or become more comfortable. Some give lives to a quest for knowledge, or wisdom, or insight. Some give lives to create amazing art, elegant technology, or effective organizations that will live on after them.
Some of us have our lives taken from us.
Each of us decides how and why we give our lives every day.
What are you giving your life for today?
Who will inspire how you give your life today?
[Image by Fey Ilyas]
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