So..does one watch TV or visit that elderly person who is lonely?

Light Jedi are, of course, allowed to enjoy their giving adventures! -Jedi Master John Camillieri

Hmm, I don't see how one of the Dark aspect would do differently. I've dedicated my life to helping others through nursing, I only forgo short term pleasures if need be.

I could go visit grandpa after my t.v. show is over. No harm in that, its not selfish, simply time conscious. The pleasures I forgo are more to the effect of, not having to much of the wrong food to eat, or not having that social drink at a party.

Light,Dark,Shadow, Jedi are not monks, We took no vows of poverty,charity, or celibacy. I enjoy myself as much as I can, this has no bearing on how disciplined or not I am, simply how I balance my time, I responsibly balance both. I enjoy giving AS MUCH as receiving

SACRIFICE

1: an act of offering to a deity something precious ; especially : the killing of a victim on an altar 2: something offered in sacrifice 3 a: destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else b: something given up or lost

I have destroyed for the sake of something else, equatable to what I was talking about when I referred to the "Wrong thing for the right reasons"

In middle school we has a class pet in science class. A pet hamster, and every Friday a selected child was allowed to play with the hamster. One Friday, a kid, a good friend of mine dropped it accidentally, a four foot drop that to a hamster might as well be four stories. The thing was screaming and dragging its back half which was facing at a right angle to its head unnaturally.

When I mean screaming, I mean that small hamster made horrible sounds, and some of the girls were screaming, most of us boys, including me, were crying. However everyone, including the teacher was frozen, watching this thing drag itself around screaming, blood coming out of its mouth....you get the idea. So, I stomped it and killed it instantly, it was the only thing I could think to do, I don't know why I did, and I felt very sick afterword, even as I type this it upsets me a little.

The surprise I had was that when I did I became a monster to the teacher, fellow students and friends. A pariah, for the most part and the last of my 8th grade year was.....hard.They thought I was a psychopath, guidance counselor...blah,blah. After I became a nurse, and as I have matured as a person I believe what I did was wrong, but for the right reasons. I killed a defenseless animal that had never wronged me, yet its terror and pain caused me to act. I have no illusions that it could have been saved, it would have died regardless. Yet instead of letting its terror and pain play out, I gave it the quickest relief I could. I believe I helped that hamster, and as a result of my help I sacrificed friends, family(I was scrutinized a bit and there was questions) teachers, any normality for the rest of middle school life( And of course some of the people who went to my middle school went to my high school) I believe now, that my sacrifice was necessary and right, however I did the wrong thing.

Was it worth it? I don't know, it was a choice, and I lived with it.

You could even say that the hamster directly influenced a big part of my decision to be a nurse and help others. It also put me in touch with my emotions, and why I do not believe they are to be sacrificed, or looked at as hindrances. We are supposed to FEEL the repercussions of our choices. We are not to be objective observers of what we do, to do so it to not take responsibility for what we have done.

Alethea's example on helping a criminal is a good example here. You helped a murderer and a rapist, he would have died without your help, now as a result you are responsible(in part) for whatever crimes he commits in the future. I have helped murderers,rapists as well as drunk drivers and other such...people. I help them because I feel that helping is right. However if I help a help a murderer, and he kills others(even in prison) Or a rapist, and he rapes 5 more women, I have now become partially responsible for those crimes. So I have become partially responsible for wrongs for what I believe are right reasons. In this case the wrongs are consequences of my right actions. In this there is sacrifice....

Sometimes you sacrifice yourself, your morals, your judgement, your very being. They may become just a patient in need, and yet what you do, even if you are impartial about it at the time, has its consequences.

That, to me is sacrifice...

~Lord Khaos of the Dark Aspect