As we roll in to 4th of July weekend here in the United States, where we celebrate our nation's independence, I've been contemplating the concept of freedom and independence. We are really blessed here in the US with many rights that allow us to celebrate who we are and what we identify with. We adults are legally free to choose a spouse, a faith, a career a car, or at least we're free to have those as attainable goals.Freedom brings joy and peace, right? (And, in America it brings hot dogs and apple pie.) When you are "free," when you feel free, it's as if a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders, right? You feel like you can finally breathe. But so many people I meet certainly don't feel that way. They feel the exact opposite. They feel trapped, enslaved by life. And they can't extricate themselves. They are slogging away at a job they hate, lost in a career they know doesn't quite fit who they are, have lost their passion or zest for life. They are stressed out, bummed out and just plain put out. They are definitely not free to be who they were meant to be.Sure, we try to put a salve on this wound with pleasure, entertainment or escape. But the next day, it's still full of "have to's" rather than "get to's". And the days just fly by. Ever feel that way? When asked about our day, people used to say "fine." Now they say "busy." Every moment is spent "in" something, responding to other people's agenda's. Our days are jam-packed with everything except what we truly desire. I would argue that what we truly desire is to have that sense of freedom, that sense of "ah, yes. I can breathe!"I want to give you some practical ways to get back your freedom to be you...to extricate yourself from the cage of life.First of all, Breathe. Really, breath. We are so Go GO GO that we forget to take a deep breath. To fill our bloodstream with energizing oxygen. Instead, we often feel on the verge of hyperventilating. So STOP, as often as you can throughout your day. Put down the smartphone (even better yet, turn it off for a minute!) Stand up and take deep, breaths, in the nose and out the mouth. Let your gut hang out. If you can, take a walk outside while doing this, DO IT! As a matter of fact, do it as soon as you are done listening here. I recommend putting a reminder in your smartphone until this becomes habit! Second, spend some time in peace and quiet, early in the morning in meditation and prayer and ask yourself: who am I? Who have I always been? What's missing from my life that would re-connect me, even a bit, with Who I am? As I've mentioned before, one of the things that came about for me it was re-discovering my love for the theater. Third, once you find that missing thing, put it back into your life! Or at least a piece of it. And set a goal to do a bit of it every day. Reconnect with that activity, that love, the passion that you once had. It could even be something you never were able to do. For me, it was playing the piano. I'd never learned how, and just a couple years ago, realized I desired to learn. And If I could just plunk out the notes to my next audition song, so be it! And now I love practicing and try to set time aside every day for it. Even just a few minutes. And if I don’t do that, I’ll rehearse an audition song, or do a bit of research on upcoming shows I’d love to audition for. It’s all related and it energizes me. It gets me thinking of possibilities…and on the piano, of some day being able to play as well as my 10 and 12-year old!So do it. Discover even that little thing that re-connects you to your unique you. For many people, it's the creative side that's been pushed by the wayside. It’s an art form or a craft they let go.A friend of mine, manages a huge call-center for a very well-known financial institution. We were over at his house for dinner, and he has all this art around the house that’s amazing. Turns out, it’s all his art!! I was blown away, I asked him when he last painted. He said it’s been YEARs. YEARS! I encouraged him to start up again. Put it in his crazy calendar. Even 1 or 2 hours a week. To shut everything off and do it. His eyes lit up. You could see the desire there! He said yes, and I made him put it in his calendar right there for two hours on Sunday. Every week. And all he needed, was permission to do it.For others, it's re-engaging with something they want to learn or simply reading a book or learning to cook. It could also be an adventure you've always desired from deep inside your core, but never had the time or the means. It's time to make time and find the means. And it doesn't all have to happen today. But it should start today. Or at least start by putting it in your calendar. I recommend a daily reminder so that if you can even remotely squeeze it in, do it! The steps are pretty simple really: Breath, Reconnect with your who, Discover and dive in to your passion.Plus, these are great first steps to being free from the cage, the labels the world has put on you. From here, with this new-found freedom, you’ll start being YOU, who you were meant to be. You’ll start freeing yourself from the identity the world and the past and your circumstances have placed on you. To become you. To become fully you for yourself, for others and for the world.Now that's freedom and independence.
Comentarios