Are You Free Today?
This month kicked off with a bang for the U.S. of A. and as I decorated my home with lots of red, white, and blue, freedom was top of mind.
For many years of my life, I didn’t consider my own freedom. Quite opposite actually...I focused on all the people and responsibilities that depended on me. My worth was tied to what I could produce, create, complete or accomplish without consideration of whether those things made me a fulfilled, more whole version of myself.
I look back and know that no one person, group, client, firm, or family member knowingly sought to hold me back or keep me from raising my hands in sweet release. But no one asked me either. No one ever asked me, “Dena, are you where you want to be, doing the things you long to do, serving, and ushering along the people you love and care for in a way that you are proud of?”
No one asked me those questions.
So by the time I looked up, years into my adulthood, without big questions like that as my guide, I realized that I was stuck competing with unspoken norms of keeping my family and my career safe and secure so as not to rock the imaginary boat of life. All the while, I kept myself afloat by looking to my left and right and seeing what the other working mothers were doing, wondering why I couldn’t seem to keep up the pace, tied to a gut-sinking knowing that there had to be something more for my life, but stuck without a clue what to do except feel hopeless.
But then, my seemingly happy little life imploded and as I waded through a time of fear and anxiety, I finally had time to ask myself, “What do you want and what are you willing to do to make it happen?”
And with that new line of questioning, I was able to look at freedom in a whole new light.
Freedom became a courageous act of self-revolution.
Freedom became a practice of caring for myself so I could care for those I held close.
Freedom became a gift I was willing to work for and graciously welcome into my life.
Freedom became something I wished for others to experience.
So I wonder...are you free?
Are you free of limiting self-doubt, negative self-talk, soul-sucking comparison, and the tethers of anxiety and fear?
Are you free to honestly express yourself, graciously connect with your intuition, and ease into unchartered waters of curiosity, unexplored options, and unlimited possibility?
Whether at work or at home...are you truly free?
Because if you aren’t then you are missing out on a special beauty that this life has to offer.
This beautiful, creative way of living will not always be perfect (because perfection is a made-up trap anyway), but when you live from a place of freedom life is always exactly as it should be. There is always something to learn. There are always feelings to be felt. And there are always opportunities to connect with yourself and those you care for deeply.
Today and every day, I hope that you give yourself space to consider your freedom.
What do you want and what are you willing to do to make it happen?
With grace as your guide, think about what is serving you and what is not. What might you need to release and what might you need to lean into to truly be free?
Give yourself that time in reflection and my gut tells me that you’ll be glad you did.
Let freedom ring true in your heart, friend. Let freedom ring.
