Freedom

What is freedom?

Is it the "freedom" to do whatever we want whenever we want?  To eat things we like, wear things that make us look a certain way, to say whatever is on our minds?

Is it the freedom to willingly suffer the consequences of our own bad decisions or do we really think freedom is avoiding consequences at all?

What if true freedom requires a bit of discipline and a lot of education and practice?

What if freedom evolves out of deep self-knowledge and long experience of what works for us and what doesn't work as well?

Then we can be free of serious disease even in the face of discomforts because our healthier dietary choices have improved our immunity.  We can be free of suffering in the face of pain and loss because we have done the hard work of cultivating emotional resilience.  We can be free of dependence on pharmaceuticals and surgeries to repair physical damage to our bodies because of our ability to observe how our exercise habits not only build strength and endurance but balance.

None of us are immune to aging, decline, or death but we can keep working to live the best lives possible.  It's not the years in our lives but the life in our years that counts.

​Have a wonderful day, and may the Fourth be with you!