Thank God we have the privilege and good fortune to live in a democracy that allows us to enjoy an unprecedented level of freedom. How it then, that some of us come to feel virtually trapped by life? My hunch is that some of us are virtually sleep-walking through life and have not yet awakened to or tuned into an awareness of the infinite number of possibilities that exist for us for optimal well-being. Granted, adult responsibilities can sometimes blind us to the plethora of opportunities that are available. But, what is truly at the bottom of feelings of entrapment and loss of control? It might be tempting to adopt the role of victim and to make the claim that one is a victim of life circumstances and the normal stresses of life. But I am convinced that life was not meant to be a struggle. On the contrary, we have free will. So, why don’t we exercise it? In a word, we fail to exercise it out of fear. The latter creates needless suffering. Taking control, true control of our destiny, implies free will to make the choices that best suit us. Without a doubt, fear, doubts and worries can be aroused when we opt for freedom of choice in deciding what is truly best for ourselves. But fear can be conquered. Unfortunately, way too often, rather than confronting the fear, we tend to look instead outside ourselves for instruction and guidance. We fail to take full responsibility for our own welfare. This, despite the fact that it is our own inner compass, heart and soul that holds the best answers for our life direction. Freedom is a gift and a responsibility. It is not something that just happens to us. We must seize it and use it to our own advantage for it to have true meaning and value in our lives. Freedom is a love-based choice. Not exercising it is fear-based. Start to create freedom in life or lose it and wither away. Our freedom-our choice.
