As we approach Independence Day once again, it seems fitting to review the basics of the word freedom as well as share this “Prayer for Freedom”.
Put simply, the opposite of freedom and democracy is autocratic leadership or dictatorship (i.e. Hitler & Putin to name a few). Freedom is an interesting word, because currently our country is divided–both groups want freedom–one through democracy and the other wants freedom from government. So why are many Americans seemingly wanting to take Democracy and freedom away from us–bottom line–have they taken their democratic freedom for granted? One author’s (James Ssekamatte) description of his experience living under a dictatorship was: “the worst part of living in a dictatorship is not the oppression, but rather the surrender that comes with a sense of powerlessness”. Certainly nothing I want to sign up for in my lifetime.
President Abraham Lincoln captured it best when he said, “Freedom is the last, best hope of earth. It is something we should cherish rather than take for granted”.
It’s for that reason that we should celebrate, offer thanks to our Higher Power and validate feelings we don’t even understand through celebrations that cannot possibly capture how we should feel about this great nation in which we are blessed to live. Throughout history the men and women who have made it possible through many hard-fought battles to ensure that we are never without the very freedoms we so often easily assume are just going to be there day after day.
It’s easy to do since most of us can’t recall a time in our lives when we weren’t free (other than those who immigrated to our country from an oppressive authoritarian regime). The freedom that President Lincoln spoke so beautifully about is something we’ve grown accustomed to, something that comes as naturally, and truly is as expected, as having air to breathe and food to eat–we have been blessed for many years and have taken it for granted.
This morning I found this timely meditation on my Insight Time”…read this “Prayer for Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz’s and soak in ancient Toltec Wisdom as taught in “The Four Agreements”, a book which offers a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love:
“Today, Creator of the Universe, we ask that you come to us and share with us a strong communion of love. We know that your real name is love and to have a communion with you is to share the same vibration, the same frequency that you are because you are the only thing that exists in the Universe.
“Today, help us to feel like you are–to love life, to be life, to be love. Help us to love the way you love with no conditions, no expectations, no obligations without any judgment. Help us to love and accept ourselves without judgment because when we judge ourselves, we find ourselves guilty and we need to be punished. Help us to love everything you create unconditionally, especially other human beings, especially those who are around us, all our relatives, and people who we try so hard to love because when we reject them, we reject ourselves, and when we reject ourselves, we reject you.
“Help us to love others just the way they are with no conditions, help us to accept them the way they are, without judgment, because if we judge them we find them guilty, we bane them and we find the need to punish them.
“Today cleans our hearts of any emotional poison we may have and free our minds of any judgments so that we can live in complete peace and complete love. Today is a very special day–today we open our hearts to love again so that we can tell each other “I love you” without any fear and really mean it. Today we offer ourselves to you–come to us–use our voices, use our ears, use our hands, use our hearts to share ourselves in a communion of love with everyone. Today, Creator–help us to be just like you are. Thank you for everything that we receive this day–especially for the freedom to be who we really are. Amen
Progress, not perfection, Warriors! And let’s be gentle with ourselves along the way.