Freedom is Who We Are

As 4th of July was approaching the idea of freedom kept rolling around in my head.

Cries of “Let freedom ring!” are called to mind on this day. The day the colonists declared their freedom from the English king and his dictates. Declared their freedom to choose their own destiny.

FREEDOM.

Why does the desire for freedom permeate the fiber of pretty much every living thing?

It’s baked within us. An integral ingredient. As intertwined in our psyche as sugar, cocoa, and vanilla are in a chocolate cake.

It’s why birds in a cage, animals in a zoo or circus yearn to be free to follow their instincts.

It’s why we experience inner resistance to having to go to work and submit to a schedule someone else dictated for us.

It’s why, even if we own our own business, we still struggle with the to-do list we have to accomplish to make our business successful.

Basically, we don’t like someone else or something else confining or constricting us in any way, whether that be physical, mental, emotional, etc.

If we choose “confinement”, i.e., our decision to apply for a certain job or start that business, then it’s easier to make some peace with the constraints that come along with those things.

It’s the confinement that we don’t choose that’s the hardest to accept. Such as a chronic illness, disability, or life changing event that forever changes the trajectory of our lives.

The extreme level of this, of course, being actual slavery (in any format), which is still a heartbreaking reality around the world today.

Sometimes, we make an unhealthy choice for ourselves and are constrained by the consequences we created for ourselves. We gave up our freedom in some way to someone or something that wasn’t good for us. This can be a huge learning experience for us if we let it. We learn the value of our own power to carefully choose what constraints we surrender to.

Freedom, or the lack of it, is something we must wrestle with and work through in every area of our lives. It’s a lifelong exploration.

Below are a few of MANY available books that explore the many facets of the topic of freedom. You will find selections for both children and adults.

Click on a picture to place that book on hold.