Time for Some Personal Freedom?

By Phil Evans

What does that really mean?  .

How important is personal freedom to each and every one of us?.

How many of us are stuck in feeling some sort of guilt, shame or embarrassment?.

How many of us who left our spouses and divided our families because of our own stuff, or the seeking of personal freedom, feel guilty for how scared and scarred it left our children?.

How many of us are still living in the embarrassment of not having performed as well as our peers may have done, during our attempt at leading a successful life?.

How many of us are feeling deep down guilt or shame due to some act of anger or spite, in which we hurt someone, and can't quite forgive ourselves?
 
The truth is that we've ALL done something to someone at some stage in our lives which we could feel guilt, shame, or embarrassment over. Whether we can release ourselves from those feelings, or not, is the challenge for many of us.

The opposite of personal freedom is feeling powerless; trapped; guilty; embarrassed; shameful ...

Fortunately, we all have the ability to take hold of our own power; grab it with both hands; and make a difference in setting ourselves free of those aspects of feeling dis-empowered. We all hold it in our grasp; within ourselves; to make a difference to ourselves; and to others! We need to be able to feel comfortable with our own power; and our own abilities to make a difference! .

We all need to 'be' the changes that we wish to see in the world; and become Agents For Change! .

Teach by example; lead by example; and gain personal freedom for ourselves and others. .

Best way to do that is by being a walking talking piece of living proof that we can all be agents for creating positive change; and take action by spreading the freedom and personal empowerment which the world needs right now!

I was reminded this week of my old Fort Street High School moto: "Faber est quisque suae fortunae": Every man is the maker of his own fortune. (Appius Claudius Caecus). In other words: We have the power within us to change our world!

And ... we can change that world of ours by starting by working on the person in the mirror; the changes will then spread outwardly; and eventually have a positive affect on more people in turn.

We are all responsible for where we're at right now; despite what circumstances may seem to have controlled the journey to this point. Take charge now; you are the driver of your bus; and you can do it so well; if only you allow yourself to feel that power within you!

I do believe that the way to take charge if you are feeling stuck in any aspect of feeling powerless, is to talk to the person (or persons) involved, and apologise if you need to: ask forgiveness if that is necessary; and if for any reason whatsoever you can't communicate with them in person; then write them a letter! The main power of the healing lies within getting the thoughts and feelings out of you; not necessarily being forgiven; because you need to be aware that not all people will forgive; or are capable of forgiving! For you, it is the act of doing your best; your intention; that is the most important aspect of this process of creating that personal freedom that you deserve. And you deserve it now!

So, if it is time to stop bashing yourself up; time to move forward and achieve personal freedom; achieve success; or simply achieve some inner peace: then there is only one thing to do from this point .... Take some action! It is never too late to take that action; whatever that may be!

I'll share a very personal example of that with you here and now: My own set of circumstances around my first marriage, and how it ended about 24 years ago, left my beautiful daughter with a broken heart. Her very own Dad had abandoned her life; walked out and left her standing in disbelief that anything like that could ever happen! The guilt that I suffered because of my own conscious awareness of how much I had destroyed her faith in life itself, left me feeling like crap for a very long time! Even though I have apologised to her many times over the past 24 years, it still sits in my being: so within the last few weeks I have sat with her and explained what was going on for me way back then (and now); and told her that it wasn't her fault in any way whatsoever that I had left our home when I did. It was my stuff! I say that because a huge percentage of children blame themselves for their parents breaking up; and I wanted to put the possibility of that to rest, if I could. .

I think that it has helped her to heal somewhat; and I deeply hope that it has; but it certainly has helped me to let go of most of that remaining guilt that I have carried for so long now!
 
I have shared that very personal part of my own life with you because I know how many people are carrying around old baggage which is weighing them down heavily: time to put it down; or at least lighten the load by sharing it with somebody! Best person to share it with is the person involved; and if they're not around or available for you to verbalise your feelings; then write that letter and set yourself free!

After all, personal freedom is critically important to every one of us:
It's time to seek it ... and learn to enjoy it!