Freedom.

This is an interesting time to be on this planet right now. It is turbulent politically, economically and enviromentally and people are having a rough time making sense of it and finding hope in the midst of it all. I have diligently refused to watch much news and read the doom and gloom articles in the newspapers and magazines. All that comes out of this for me is fear and negative thinking. So why go there...I am also focused on connecting to what it truly is that we are supposed to learn from this experience. It is an experience marked with depression and confusion and fear seems to dominate people's thoughts. I am not immune to this experience, but I do make a consistent daily effort not to let it drive me; rather me managing my thoughts and refocusing them to stay positive about my life and the world that I live in. There is a lesson and an opportunity necessary for the recovery of our financial, political and environemental stability. And after practicing my mental discipline for quite some time now I finally understand what it is...at least for me. It is the opportunity to achieve freedom. True freedom does not lie in a democratic society, nor does it come from financial freedom. It comes from within and resides in the mind. It is the ablity to choose one's thoughts at any given point in time. And what greater time to learn it than right now. Is this a bad time or is this a good time? Our choice...What is bad about what is happening in our society today and what is good about it? Which thoughts make me feel good about myself, my life and the world that I live in, and which ones don't? My choice!!! Freedom lies in my power to choose the thoughts that serve me and manage the ones that don't. It takes practice and willingness to become real with oneself to achieve this freedom. We must be prepared to challenge old belief systems that have outworn their usefulness and be willing to taste and try on some new ones that may feel very foreign at first. But if we want to grow as human beings and as a society then we must become conscious of our thoughts and work to change them. Nelson Mandela is one of my heroes and he is a shining example of how powerful this work is. He brilliantly lived this freedom as he chose to forgive and focus on what was more important; to create freedom for all the people of South Africa. This is one of his famous quotes:
"The time is always right to do right."

Another person who is a living example of this truth for me is Paolo Coelho, who has experienced his fair share of trials and tribulations, yet knows to look beyond the obvious and connect with what lies behind. If the intent was to do good but the outcome was opposite, there is no need to forgive. His parents sent him to a mental institution three times in his late teens to "fix" his artistic "dysfunction". His comment about the experience is that they wanted to help him. It was not a healthy strategy, but the intent was to help, so therefore there is no need for forgivenes. Now that is true freedom!!! He liberates himself and his parents from their collective painful history with how he chooses to think about the experience. Here is a quote from his acceptance speech, delivered to the Brazilian Academy of letters:

"The glory of the world is transitory.
and we should not measure our lives by it,
but by the choice we make
to follow our Personal Legend,
to believe in our utopias
and to fight for our dreams.
We are all protagonists of our own lives,
and it is often the anonymous heroes
who leave the deepest mark."
-Paolo Coelho

These are some other quotes that speak of the true essence of freedom:

"I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved."
-Franklin D. Rosevelt

"Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is its ultimate reward."
-Patricia Sampson