Freedom and How It Feels

Introduction

A lot of people think that they are free when they are not. It’s easy to think that you’re free when you avoid trying to do something that you don’t do as part of your daily routine. If you stay in your comfort zone and learn to absorb the irritations of life, you can pretend you have freedom.

When you don’t say the things that you wish you could say, you lack freedom. Most of us keep our mouth shut because we don’t have the time or energy to handle the potential backlash that will ensue.We keep quiet and pretend it is all acceptable. You can learn to avoid looking at the things around you that need to be done to set yourself free.

They say that hoarders have a certain type of blindness that allows them to see what they want to see rather than the reality of the chaos around them. People also say that love is blind. Anyone who has ever been in love and completely besotted by someone knows the feelings when the love goes away and they see the reality of the person.

When the relationship ends, they think that the once-beloved person has changed. The beloved now seems to be someone entirely different than the person you thought you loved. They haven’t changed. Your willingness to see them as they are has changed.

Our own eyes can deceive us. We can become blind to the pile of clothes on our bedroom floor or the stains in our bathroom sink. We can become blind to the fact that we never have time to stop and smell the roses. It is easier to shut off looking too closely at your life. Thinking about your daily routines might reveal to you that you are on a treadmill that never seems to stop.

When you wake up in the morning do you feel excited about getting out of bed and getting on with the day? Or do you have that lingering sense of dread that another day will go by and you won’t have that feeling that you thought you would have when you grew up? That feeling that the world is yours to enjoy. That feeling of freedom.

Some people need to have money in the bank so that they will feel freedom from worry. Some people need to have the freedom to follow their passions. Some people want their freedom from a daily routine that wears them out physically and mentally.

If you can find what freedom is to you, you are on your way to achieving it. If you have no idea where to start, take a look at the reverse of freedom and see what makes you feel trapped. If you can unlock any entrapment that you have, you might get a sense of what feels like freedom and what freedom feels like. A lot of people think, “if I won the lottery I would be perfectly happy.” What would being perfectly happy mean to you?

There are many memes on Facebook showing people sitting at a campfire overlooking a lake, suggesting that this would be perfect happiness, perfect freedom. For some people, this wouldn’t feel like freedom at all. They would feel isolated, out of touch, bored, and lonely.

It may take a little while to get into your own mind and see what it is that you seek. Try to explore your inner being for a couple of minutes every morning before you get out of bed, even if the alarm clock has announced that now’s the time to get up. Don’t doze back to sleep but take a couple of minutes and just let your mind float free. Think about what would make this day perfect.

Chances are that negative thoughts will come clanging into your mind showing you in graphic detail what will make this day imperfect. Imagine how it would feel to avoid these negative thoughts. Take the time as a guide to where you can start your path to being free. Make a point of concentrating on how you can remove that particular negativity from your life.

Don’t allow yourself to fall into the trap of anger. It doesn’t help and it will hurt you. It may seem that there is no way out of the situation and in some cases there isn’t. A fatal illness is just about impossible to overcome. Most other situations can be overcome.

It may call for some drastic action. If you have a boss or a job that torments you, it will take a little time to change the situation. It can be done. All it takes is a great deal of concentration to find a way to make the necessary changes.

Can you find another job? Can you change your career? Can you take special training to get into another department?

If you are in a bad relationship, how can you change it? Are you willing to take a chance on communicating with your partner? Are you willing to break free if the situation is beyond repair?

Conclusion

To find freedom, you have to see the barriers around you. Be mindful of your choices in all things and pay attention to actions and decisions that reinforce your barriers.