sacrifice ['sa-kr&-"fIs]
forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim
Synonyms include: cede, forgo, let go, lose, offer up, part with, renounce, spare, suffer, surrender, waive, yield

A wise man once said, "You can have anything in life, if you will sacrifice everything else for it." What he meant is, nothing comes without a price. So before you go into battle, you better decide how much you're willing to lose. Too often, going after what feels good means letting go of what you know is right. And letting someone in, means abandoning the walls you've spent a lifetime building. Of course, the toughest sacrifices are the ones we don't see coming; when we don't have time to come up with a strategy to pick a side or to measure the potential loss. When that happens - when the battle chooses us, and not the other way around - that's when the sacrifice can turn out to be more than we can bear. - Dr. Meredith Grey, "Grey's Anatomy"(Yes, I did in fact rewind-play-pause-rewind-play-pause to get all this down!)

Well, a wise friend once told me that, "Nothing ever worth attaining is without great risk." That great risk is often the sacrifice we have to contend with when we come upon something we want so badly, but are too crippled by our own fear that it won't happen just the way we want it to and we'll end up feeling like failures! It’s so tragic how often we let things that haven’t even happened yet keep us from doing what we really want; which is a real shame because I learned in 2006 that the happiest I ever am is when I do what want, with whom I want, when I want to do it and without all that over-analysis of the pros and cons. I can’t imagine the joy I might’ve sacrificed had I not taken any chances.

I watched “Under the Tuscan Sun” about a month before we left for our trip, and then I watched it again on New Year’s Eve day. Before meeting Italy face-to-face, I watched that movie with a child-like anticipation of what I would be seeing live in 30 days’ time. All I could think of were all the pictures I’d be taking, all the food I’d be eating and all the wonderful new things I’d be experiencing with 5 of my favorite people. I didn’t prepare myself for any life-altering changes, nor did I expect to be any more awed than any 28-year old traveling through Europe would be. But I climbed up castle walls in Switzerland, rode a water bus through the Grand Canal in Venice, stood before Michelangelo’s statue of David and climbed 463 steps to the top of the Duomo in Florence, not to mention the fact that I walked around the Coliseum, made wishes at the Trevi Fountain and attended mass at the Vatican in Rome – HOW COULD LIFE FOR ME NOT CHANGE AFTER THIS?

Aside from 2-weeks’ worth of sightseeing, eating and drinking, I encountered a lot of moments for private reverie, even in the company of 5 crazy friends, hundreds of Italians and even more tourists. These sessions of dream-like meditations may not have been obvious to anyone, but they definitely resonated with me thereafter; and they weren’t just musings about the beauty and history that surrounded me.

What I thought of most while I was away were all the choices I made during the past year, as well as all the choices that everyone around me made. I only need to think of my family and friends when I wonder about sacrifice and risk. I think of my parents who sacrificed a big house and a fancy car to invest in their daughters’ education. I think of my friends who finished 4-5 years of undergraduate studies, and decided to go back to school to further their careers or start new ones. I think of all of us commuters who brave long drives for a job we happen to enjoy. I think of all of you who left or have to leave the comfort and familiarity of home to move out of state or out of the country because you have things in life you have to take care of. I think of all the second chances we gave and were given. And how can I forget everyone who got engaged! Talk about taking a chance on letting someone into your life – forever!

Yes, there are sacrifices we may not be prepared to make, nor risks we may not be ready to undertake. But when has life ever asked us if we were ready for something? In my experience, hardly ever, almost never. It scares me to imagine that I won’t be ready to handle something that comes my way. But it terrifies me even more to think I’d be too afraid to see what I’m made of.

So, Belated HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVERYONE! I hope that only faith and grace lead the way through each sacrifice and each risk you make in 2007!