For many the word FREEDOM has a very patriotic definition. Once a year on the 4th of July in America, we celebrate our freedom on Independence Day. Yet even in America, many of us don’t live our lives freely. Many of us are held hostage by our own emotions. We are afraid to be our authentic self for fear of rejection. We often struggle to let go of our stories which frequently are not based in reality. These stories are often rooted in childhood experiences and fears that no longer serve us as adults. If we let go of the stories though we are left wondering what is the truth.
This topic reminds me of a dear friend who several years ago suffered from a brain aneurysm and has had to fight for his life. As he began his recovery process, he had to learn to walk again like a child. We would go to the gym every morning and we would walk the track. I would walk backwards while he held my hands for balance. He was very scared to fall. As he progressed, I would begin to only hold one hand and then move to his side. When I moved to his side, the fear would escalate. One day he stopped on the track after he had a little stumble. He looked at me and told me we had to stop. Although he had not fallen down, the stumble had really frightened him. We stood on the track and breathed together and I asked him, “What does walking mean to you?” He pondered the question, tears streamed, and he finally responded – “FREEDOM!” In the following weeks as we continued to practice walking, we focused on FREEDOM. As we walked, we would often just repeat the word FREEDOM out loud over and over.
As he began to focus on FREEDOM and let go of the fear, he began to walk more easily. When I get stuck in my own fear, I often find myself reflecting back to the days on the track and hear us saying FREEDOM and it helps me to keep moving forward.
FREEDOM is a choice. You have FREEDOM to choose how to live your life. I invite you to live your life FULLY and FREELY!!
