Are you losing your feelings of freedom?

What does freedom mean to you? The answers to that question can be as varied as the number of people answering it. For some, the answer may be about being free from something. For example, if someone recently got a serious medical diagnosis, the answer to the question could be about wanting to be free from that medical condition. That is certainly understandable because health is most important. Mahatma Gandhi put it this way, “Health is the true wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”

Other people may want freedom from an addiction of some sort. Addictions are the opposite of being free. Addictions can keep a person enslaved emotionally as well as physically. An addicted person’s life can, and usually does, revolve around their addiction. If this applies to you, we encourage you to start the road to recovery today. Yes, recovery will be difficult, but the regret in not acting sooner is also hard. As Brittany Burgunder said, “Recovery is hard. Regret is harder.”

For others, they may want to be free from overwhelming debt. Heavy debt can also adversely affect a person’s physical and emotional health, as well as put a strain on their close relationships. If needed, seek advice. “Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.”– Josh Billings

Fear is another thing that imprisons many people and keeps them from feeling their freedom. We’re all familiar with many expressions about this dynamic, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt when he said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Here’s a powerful statement from Jack Canfield, “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”

We’re reminded of a two-picture cartoon we saw recently. The first picture shows a close-up of a person standing behind prison bars. The second picture pans out to show there are no other walls around the person other than the set of prison bars in front. Yes, it’s easy to let our fears keep us imprisoned within our own minds.

So far, we’ve talked about being free in terms of being free from something, such as being free from illness, addictions, debt, and fear. Freedom also entails the right to do certain things. Oxford Dictionary defines freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”

In fact, our Founding Fathers felt freedom of speech to be so important they listed it in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, along with the freedoms of religion, press, peaceful assembly and right to petition the Government. Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of our democracy. It gives us the right to express popular and more importantly, unpopular, opinions. That right must be applied to everyone, not just those favored by those in power.

What happens in totalitarian countries is that people lose their freedom of speech. Government and social media should not be able to clamp down if speech doesn’t fit the narrative of authorities in power. Let’s use the respectful exchange of ideas, without retribution, as a way for best solutions to evolve. To maintain freedom in a country, it’s important to avoid “cancel culture” and promote, not infringe upon, freedom of speech.

On a positive note, freedom of religion has recently come to the forefront. Have you heard about the spiritual revival that started spontaneously on February 8^th? Students at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky stayed to continue worshipping after a regular weekly chapel service. The service has continued nonstop for days. It has drawn 1000’s of worshippers from as far away as Singapore! It has also inspired similar movements at over 22 other college campuses and has gone viral on social media. Asbury University had to open overflow chapels to accommodate the multitude of worshippers. In the words of one Asbury Professor, “We’re witnessing a surprising work of God.”

What about you? As you read this, maybe you’ve thought about something you would either like to have freedom from, or have the freedom to do. If so, act today to create a plan to help you gain freedom from whatever may be enslaving you or holding you back. Remember, you don’t have to be alone in this process. Seek the help of a family member, friend, or trusted advisor to help get you on a path to feeling your freedom. And remember the words of Peter Marshall, “May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.”

Chanhassen MN residents, Doug and Lynn Nodland are success coaches and owners of The Balance Center in Excelsior. Contact them at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2023 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.