Prompt 4 was to go outside, sit and relax and journal whatever comes to mind. Well this week everywhere we turn it's red white and blue. Makes me think of what freedom means to me ... and since I'm a list maker, journaling in the form of a list.
1. Being american is freedom to live a life of opportunity. Right after college I had the chance to visit Vietnam and meet some distant cousins and family friends. At that time in my life I had my whole life ahead of me, climbing the corporate ladder and becoming "successful". They had nothing. Jobs were hard to get and a young woman could only look forward to finding a man to take care of her. I will never forget that moment when I knew how lucky I was to have opportunity. I can live my life anyway I choose.
2. I'm grateful to have the freedom to live a full life. Whether it's my parents for my good genes and my upbringing or my life experiences for shaping me or all the mentors that have shown me the way. I have a career and a good home life with the freedom to decide what that work life balance looks like for me.
3. I can honestly say I am free in love. Gone is the girl who loves to get loved back, the codedependent, the insecure. I'm free in my heart to love unconditionally. But what a bonus when the love I get back is also unconditional.
4. Free to raise my kids anyway I want. Believe me I don't want to do it alone but free to make both right and wrong choices with wisdom from others is a freedom I treasure. I think each child is different and I'm grateful for the freedom to change as I go.
5. I so love my freedom to choose my own beliefs. I was raised Buddhist, married a Catholic, discovered Christianity and am now helping my kids formulate their own set of beliefs. We need the structure of organized religion to help us find our way in life but having the freedom to see other views is a blessing too. Afterall, we're all trying to find our way.
Freedom is so many things that without it, life would be hard. As we celebrate freedom on this 4th of July, lets think about how that one word has so much impact on all the parts of our life.
Challenge idea came from here.
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