Perhaps those expectations are connected in some way to those examples Yoga poses gods of historical or spiritual characters such as Alexander the Great or Jesus Christ, even if only Yoga poses gods archetypically. Christ was just 33 when he was crucified on the cross 2002 years ago, dramatically affecting history and symbolically affecting every life since His own, even of those who don’t believe in His being the true Christ and Savior. I think that we each desire to some degree to affect others beyond our own lifetimes, even if it does not extend beyond the lives of our own children. Positively influencing the lives of our own children would be enough any life other than our own would be enough. The first time I realized that, having affected my own life, I now wished to affect others’ lives as well, I started the beginnings of another intention to put to practical use what I knew and what I had experienced.
After giving up smoking and losing my father to a smoking-related disease, which gave me the impetus to try to help others to quit smoking, I put myself out there with the intention to help at least one person through sharing my experience. For some of us, this is a natural instinct; for others, it must be awakened. The Dalai Lama says: Life becomes useful when you confront a difficulty; it provides a kind of value for your life to have the kind of responsibility to confront it and overcome it.
