Some additional thoughts on martyrs and suffering

I wrote quite a bit about this in another post but just couldn't stop beating a dead horse. It occured to me that the 'martyr syndrome' has nothing to do with actually becoming a martyr. People who have been martyred have been so after they died. One of the most important things to remember about them is that they did NOT suffer. They were living their lives from loving and joyous places, truly experiencing and loving every moment they were alive. They didn't get involved in struggle because they wanted to suffer, they got involved because they wanted to - because they couldn't NOT do anything in their power to help. They didn't WANT people to suffer, themselves included.

I think what happens is that people look and say "so and so sacrificed his/her life for x cause" and it is automatically assumed that they 'suffered' for the cause. Although I supposed it's true that most powerful leaders and martyrs did suffer to a certain degree, their focus wasn't on the suffering. The suffering was a unintended side effect of their real work - similar to the adoration and praise some of them engendered. From what I've read of Christ, at no point did he make a conscious decision that personal suffering would cause lots of positive change for other people or help other people 'see the light.' He knew that suffering was likely but he didn't see it as an action that, of itself, would have a major impact.

I think the reason martyrs are dubbed as such is that people want to remember them because they gave their lives for something they loved and believed in. That willingness to accept any price because you are doing what you *know* is the highest choice not only for yourself but for humanity - that is what we want to remember. Not that they endured suffering for the cause, but that they loved enough to keep going even through the fear that they would have to suffer. I believe the intent, the purpose is what makes a Christ or a Dr. King such a legendary figure - they knew that the love they felt and the light they followed was more important than one human's suffering.

I felt the need to explore my ideas on this a bit more because I think sometimes people equate activist with martyr and I don't believe that's an accurate connection. Rereading this, I realize I didn't do a terribly good job expressing my ideas but they boil down to this: It all comes down to the intent. Where is the person's energy coming from? Does the energy come from a loving place - are they walking in their light and being their authentic selves or are they doing something because they think they have to or that it's expected?

Bottom line - If you're not doing it because you love it, maybe you should re-examine your reasons.