Yesterday, I go to the bookstore aka “where I trick off all my money” and I decide to pick up No Woman No Cry: My life with Bob Marley by Rita Marley with Hettie Jones. I also got Catch a Fire by Timothy White. I decided to go with Rita’s story first.

I’m not going to review it. It was good. Sad, but ultimately triumphant. Here’s what it made me think. What is sacrifice? Rita Marley, from my reading of her book, gave up a lot. She held her tongue when she could have said things. She turned a blind eye to many things. I have no judgement to make, but what I can respect is that she did it because she believed in Bob. That people needed his songs and that inspiration. That the good of her family needed to come first. That the good of all his children was important, no matter who their mama was. Difficult decisions…I don’t know what I would have done. Sometimes you have to follow your heart and sometimes that means giving up part of you for what – or who – you believe in. Nowadays, we look at sacrifice as such an ugly word. Who gives up things anymore? If anything, we’re all about getting more. Even in a recession. But it’s not a bad word. Sacrifice opens us up to so many things. It’s like the key to a whole other realm. Less of me and more of others. What I give up, others gain. Stop getting in your own way and let others see the light in you, as opposed to trying to make them see the light on you.