Visitor 3,091,971: The Sweetness of Freedom

“Smeagol is freeeeeee!!” That’s a line from [arguably] the greatest book/movie trilogy of all-time, The Lord of the Rings. The cursed creature Smeagol realizes that he is finally free from his menacing alter-ego Gollum, and he expresses his freedom exuberantly. How did he obtain such freedom? you may be wondering. It’s simple: he made a choice.

In the very same way as Smeagol, we either choose to be free, or we choose to be prisoners. Many of us choose to be prisoners. I chose to be a prisoner of my own making for years. I was “trapped” by my job, my finances, or whatever other circumstances made for a convenient excuse not to take responsibility for my own happiness.

I’m not sure why so many of us make this choice. Maybe it is easier. Maybe we don’t realize how powerful we really are. Maybe we would rather be a victim than a victor.

If you’re a Christ-follower, then you know, and probably wholeheartedly believe, that Jesus died for our freedom. I believed that in theory, but yet I wasn’t able to live it for several years. If I was free, why did I still feel so miserable? What was I doing wrong?

It was all about my decisions.

When I made the decision to take responsibility for my own happiness, I became free. When I started making healthy lifestyle choices, I became free. When I gave myself permission to make mistakes, to be wrong, to fail – in other words, to be human – I became free. When I made the choice to forgive myself and others for past hurts and disappointments, I became free. It really was that simple.

I know, this is a process, and it’s not a one-time decision. (Unfortunately for Smeagol, he was not able to maintain his positive choice, and eventually the dark side claimed him.) The choice to be free has to be made on a regular basis, just like eating wholesome food. If I decide to eat pizza and ice cream for dinner every night, eventually I will feel bad, look bad, have less energy, gain weight, and host of other bad things. Similarly, if I choose to focus on the negative, look for the bad in others, allow stress on the job to get the best of me, repress my feelings and so on, eventually I will feel bad, look bad, have less energy, gain weight and a host of other bad things. Crap in, crap out. Positivity in, positivity out.

To help free yourself from yourself (smile), I suggest the following action steps:

Pay attention to your self-talk. Become aware of how often you say negative things to yourself, and work persistently to change negative to positive. (This same principle applies in your dealings with others.) Appreciate the things and people your have in your life, however little it may seem at the time.
Feed your mind with positive, encouraging words. There is a wealth of information available at your local bookstore or library, as well as on the web. Here are a couple of my online faves, but there are many, many out there – find one or two that resonate with you and read them regularly. Subscribe to email updates when you can – a dose of positivity will show up without your having to even think about it!

www.values.com – sign up for their inspirational quote of the day
http://www.thepowerofawareness.com/ – my spiritual mentor Laina Orlando

Take care of you. This is the most basic advice, but it is 100% correct 100% of the time: eat better, exercise as often as possible, get enough sleep. Listen to your body: if you’re tired, turn down whatever pressing item is on your agenda and rest. If you’re hungry, eat some whole, healthy food. (Tip: if it comes in a box, it’s probably neither whole nor healthy. Try to eat foods in their most natural form as often as possible.) Drink more water. You really don’t need me to tell you this.
Develop a support network. If you do not have many friends or family nearby, find a church in which you feel most at home or look for groups such as Celebrate Recovery (www.celebraterecovery.com - It’s much more than a substance abuse program.)
Get it off your chest. If you cannot or do not want to talk to others about what’s on your mind, start a journal (or a blog!). Not only will this give voice to your feelings, I have found that it also gives me clarity of mind. I had resisted journaling for years – heck, even now I don’t do it regularly – but I was truly amazed at how helpful it is. You can burn the journals when they’re full if you want, or you can keep them to reflect on how far you’ve come. Whatever you need to do – just get those feelings out!
Surround yourself with happy, positive people as much as possible. Do what you can to avoid time with negative people. They will suck the life and happiness out of most anybody!

I could go on and on about this subject because I believe in it so completely. I was a prisoner for many years. Now that I know with every fiber of my being that I do not have to live that way again. I encourage you to make the same choice I did. Free yourself. Live in the now…don’t be held prisoner to a past that you cannot recreate or change, to a future you fear, to the worries and “what if’s”, the opinions of others, the job you hate…whatever it is that is keeping you in bondage. Choose freedom.

I hope you’ll make this choice today, and join me in triumphantly and joyously declaring, “I am freeeeeee!!”