Find your Freedom

 

 

 

 

Having a sense of freedom and expansiveness around you is important to most people. You hear much about domestic abuse and coercive control which can result in a total lack of freedom, even when it might look normal on the outside of the relationship. Being locked into an unhappy marriage or job can bring feelings of helplessness and lack of freedom.

Sometimes it takes great courage to win your own freedom. You are the most important person in your life. It is your life choices today which determine the life you experience tomorrow.

I wondered if the desire for personal freedom was a modern desire or one man has always had. In times gone by, have people just accepted their lack of freedom? For me it is about taking responsibility for your life. If things are not good now, you can choose to start to take steps, albeit small ones, to move to a better place. I feel man’s desire for freedom has been there a long time.

I found this poem from Jalal al-Din Rumi. He was writing in the 13^th century. It is an approach to life that allows you to find your own freedom.

It's your road and your road alone.

Others may walk it with you, but no

one can walk it for you.

Jalal al-Din Rumi

What I took from this is;

My life is my own - who I choose to be friends with, to love and how I want to just 'be' in this life of mine.

Of course, there have been and will continue to be bumps on my road. But it is my choice how I react to and handle those bumps.

Some bumps I find harder than others, especially when I lose someone. But I am grateful for the time I have had with them and the chance to give and receive their love.

As I have got older and look back on the road I have travelled, I can see the bumps I have negotiated including those I made harder for myself.

Enjoying the 'now' and leading a simpler life has made my bumps more endurable. I am learning to walk a smoother road going forwards.

I have the freedom to manage myself and my life…