Freedom Personified

my blog yesterday, I reflected hard on what it means, really. Often it is associated with the word "from" - freedom from fear, from tyranny, from abuse, from starvation and so, and we hear it much in this context at the moment over events in Syria, Tibet, Greece to name just a few. In fact, what these peoples are demonstrating or fighting for is freedom to be what they think they want to be - even if it leads them, unknowingly, to a different sort of prison. The outcome ultimately does not matter, but having the right to choose does. The greatest gift we can give anyone is freedom, and our karmic balance is affected at once if we place conditions or restrictions on another person for our own benefit or peace of mind. It happens often, and often too it is excused as being "for their own good" but usually the reason is subjective, even selfish. I have seen it in over-protective parents or a possessive partner, and I have even seen it in controlling pet owners who treat their animals like humans through their attachment and need for them. Animals and children have the right (within reason) to be free to be themselves too. One of the hardest but most rewarding quests of our human journey is to find our freedom from ego, for with ego we cannot be free. By seeing ourselves honestly and detaching from the impediments of our creation like emotion, fear, desire and expectation we are able to reach the inner part of us which is who we are in essence - soul and spirit - and then we are in the place of constant joy. No-one else can give us this true freedom except ourselves, and this is why it is so important not to deny the right to freedom to others, particularly those we love. What they do with it is up to them!]]>