Ripples #945: Ultimate Freedom!
July 3, 2017
PEBBLE
Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us. -Stephen Covey, shared by Brittany in Florida
BOULDER
The freedom we are looking for is the freedom to be ourselves, to express ourselves. But if we look at our lives we will see that most of the time we do things just to please others … The worst part is that most of us are not even aware that we are not free.
-Don Miguel Ruiz, shared by George in Queens, NY
PONDER
I often play around with the theme of FREEDOM around this time of year since we celebrate USA’s Independence Day on July 4. One of the key components of freedom is about having choices, and I invite you to find a few moments between sparklers and fireworks to think about all the choices you have in a typical day.
Even though there are many things we DON’T get to choose, and even though our lives are far from perfect, you might be surprised just how many times in a day you have multiple options that you’re choosing from: options about which foods you’ll eat at a given meal, what clothes to wear today, what leisure activities you can choose from during your down time. It is also true that many of our “need to get done” tasks have options about HOW or WHEN we accomplish them. Even when something unpleasant happens that is completely beyond our control, there are usually still options about how we are going to respond.
It’s worth keeping in mind that lots of people don’t have access to the same sets of choices and options that we tend to take for granted. So make an extra effort this week to celebrate the ULTIMATE FREEDOMS that you have in your life, and maybe see if there is something you can do to enlarge the freedom of others who don’t have similar access.
Peace,
Paul
The Ripples Guy
