Ahmad Al Charif

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I do not like the way the word sacrifice is being used these days.

I understand that sacrifice is needed sometimes, that it is a necessary evil, that we push through in order to attain a higher purpose. Or an end result, for those of you who are business oriented.

I attended a very important business meeting the other nigh. The speaker, a highly respected leader and an innovator. I greatly admired the man merely through all the things i had heard about him.

But as i sat there, listening to his motivational speech to all the employees, a remarkable thing happened. I could see right through him.

I saw a man who had put his entire life into a career, into this massive well oiled machine of a business. And as he spoke with passion, with all the conviction in the world, his soul cried out to me in pain. I saw his child self struggling from behind the bars of his man made prison. And it was heart breaking.

He spoke about his past, how he came to the person he is. He shared his experiences freely with everyone, encouraging everyone to follow in his footsteps, telling them; us, that it is possible. That we can make it, just like he did. He talked about sacrifice.

I looked on as everybody clapped, and maneuvered around to get a moment of his attention. A handshake, small meaningless words. Clutching at this opportunity to try and become more. To succeed.

As i stood there, pondering my next move, his soul spoke to me. It spoke of lost dreams, of pain, of the loss of joy, of a meaningless existence. It urged me to walk away. To not look back. This is not the way, it said.

And so i slipped away, exited the building and drove for a while surging with emotions, and conflicting ideas on what success really is, or what it looks like.

We sacrifice way too many things. We sacrifice far too much.

We end up sacrificing the one thing that really matters. Our own happiness.