Human society extols such a character trait as sacrifice. She is glorified, those who have shown her, set as an example to others, stories are written about her. But few people think that sacrifice is a word that hides many shades of good and evil.
Sacrifice - what is it
Sacrifice is a human character trait, the owner of which is capable of sacrificing something belonging to him, for the benefit of another person, or any business.
It is believed that only good and helpful people are capable of sacrifice. But it's not always the case. Sometimes a person is obliged to do something to the detriment of his interests for the sake of moral duty. The Church does not approve of this, calling for sacrifices from the bottom of the heart, not expecting anything in return. But if the burden of sacrifice is morally great, it turns a blind eye to insincerity, allowing it to fulfill at least a moral duty, and the heart will still respond over time.
Synonyms of Sacrifice
Synonyms are words that are close in meaning, with which you can replace the main word without losing the main essence. According to this statement, suitable words can be distinguished from the electronic dictionary of synonyms. Upon hearing them, any person will confirm that this is sacrifice:
- Heroism.
- Dedication.
- Altruism.
- Self-giving.
- Self-forgetfulness.
- Asceticism.
- Selflessness.
How is the sacrifice of women
For the first time such a concept as female sacrifice was sounded by the American psychoanalyst Karen Horney. After analyzing many life stories, she came to the conclusion that the female tendency to sacrifice her interests for the good of the family stretches from the childhood of the once little girl.
It is unlikely that anyone thought about why in most families the place of the mistress of the house is occupied by the woman, who is always dissatisfied, sawing the nerves of her relatives. She works daily for the benefit of her family, washing, cleaning, preparing many dishes, but more often it comes at the price of incredible fatigue. If you recall that many women also combine this with the main work, then you can only marvel at their strength and endurance. Women feel the same way and therefore are greatly offended when family members do not appreciate such a huge effort to ensure their comfort.
But if you delve deeper into this question in more detail, what will happen if a woman rests after work, and not gritting her teeth, will wash the mountain of dirty dishes? Or goes shopping with friends, and the husband at this time will look after the children. Most women believe that no one else can do this except them. But in fact, one of the family members can take on these functions quite temporarily. Doing homework, they will appreciate female labor, and it can be wait for those long-awaited words of gratitude.
But few women will decide on this. After asking some of them, Karen came to an amazing conclusion: they all share a subconscious sense of guilt. Burdening themselves with the duties of the mistress of the house, they try to earn the forgiveness of their mother, who is often not even alive. All mothers united in one image - this is an eternally busy woman, besides being overloaded with household chores, but trying to control members of her family to keep abreast of all things and to correct what seems to her wrong.
The little girl, feeling pressure and constant control from her mother, tries to resist this, arranging tantrums and rebelling. But over time, learning to gradually become aware of their emotions, a sense of guilt settles in it. After all, this is a native mother and her daughter understands that not loving her is wrong. But she can't help herself. Trying to fight internal emotions, she does everything to deserve the love and encouragement of her mother. If this does not happen, the girl believes that she herself is to blame and apparently did not do enough. The girl grows up, but guilt remains with her in many cases, walking with her hand in hand throughout her life.
Where did the male sacrifice come from?
For many centuries, the tradition of male leadership has been formed. It was the man who was considered the head of the family, it was from him that any sacrifices were expected for the benefit of those who care about him.
All ethical considerations and patriarchal laws are based on the usual biological principle. One man can impregnate many women in a short time, while one woman at a time can bear only one, sometimes two children, per pregnancy. Therefore, one man and several women are able to reproduce more people in their entire family life than one woman and several men.
While society needed a large number of people, no one disputed the supremacy of men. One man could do much more to demographic growth than many women. But over time, the need for male leadership has disappeared by itself. The distortion in society has leveled off, the number of people has increased, and women have ceased to spend most of their lives in a pregnant state.
But centuries-old affirmations today have their strength. Yes, feminist movements have done their job, and modern women have far more rights and freedoms than before. But as before, a woman is expected to serve and submit to her man for the good of the family. And from a man they expect victims and protection in everything: from financial support of the family to sacrifice their lives for children.
The role of sacrifice in love
Society glorifies sacrificial love. Sacrifice in love is a willingness to forget about your feelings, or give something very expensive for the good of a loved one.
This does not always mean the reunion of loving hearts, the creation of a new family and life to the grave. Life is sometimes so cruel that it puts a person before a choice: either the suffering of other people, but a happy life together, or giving up one’s own feelings for the sake of someone else’s well-being. This is the essence of sacrificial love. Such a test confirms that sometimes sacrifice is a rejection of something less for the sake of something more.
When this happens, a person needs to grow up. It is not easy to refuse something dear to your heart, knowing that all the good fruits of this act will be reaped by strangers to you, and only a bitter sediment will remain for yourself. But this is a necessary stage of life that every person must go through on the path of growing up.
Sacrifice in the relationship of mother and child
This is a painful issue in the lives of many families. Unfortunately, it is quite common practice to solve their psychological problems at the expense of children. And most often it is women who do this:
- To give birth to yourself is a well-known option for those girls who can’t manage to establish their personal lives. They transfer all unspent love and feminine energy intended for a probable life partner to the child. Often, a single mother after giving birth no longer seeks to find a suitable man, devoting the baby his whole life. But a child ever becomes an adult. And the mother begins to overwhelm conflicting feelings. On the one hand, she wants the best for her blood, on the other, she does not want to share what has belonged to her for so many years. It is good if the mother has the wisdom to step aside and not interfere with the child’s life. But if this does not happen, and she does not dare to let him go, then with one hundred percent probability it can be argued that she will break his fate.
- Living for a child is also a common scenario for many families. After the appearance of the baby, the woman focuses on him all the resources, often moving her husband and other family members to the side. And the child, called to be an extension of love and family, becomes its center. It is in such cases that there are husband's whispers in attempts to get the missing in the family on the side, or binges, wanting to forget about the problems. If the situation reaches a critical moment, the family often breaks up.
- A child as property is the fate of a baby born of an authoritarian and authoritarian mother. Wanting to control his every breath, a woman fundamentally changes his fate, adjusting to her needs. But the universe cannot be fooled. The woman realizes the desire to live her life again at the expense of the child, but you will have to pay for it with his unfortunate fate. She helped a new person come to this world, but this did not automatically make his life her property.
There are a lot of such life scenarios, the above is only part of the possible scenarios. It all comes from the fact that not all women correctly understand the essence of maternal sacrifice.
The main role of the mother in the life of the child is to give him life and ensure safety until the new personality passes through all stages of development. On this her task is completed. A child can grow painlessly only in a full-fledged and loving family, where parents respect and love each other, supporting in difficult life situations. In this direction, the woman must direct all her inner strength and energy. And the child will catch himself, taking an example from his parents.