Responsible Freedom

I’ve read that one of the highest forms of responsibility is the responsibility to be free and one of the highest forms of freedom is the freedom to be responsible. This took me some time to fully understand. The tension between being spontaneous and expressive and being self-disciplined and responsible. One must avoid being on either extreme by overdoing one extreme or the other. One who overdoes spontaneity and expressiveness becomes undisciplined and irresponsible. One who overdoes being self-disciplined and responsible becomes less expressive and more guarded. We must integrate the positives of being self-disciplined and spontaneous. This reflects, most of what I take out of life lessons learned; that balance appears to be the most commonsensical solution for all troubles abound.

Responsibility to be free; the wording confused me at first but when I read examples that relate to addiction, it made sense – especially when I tied it to a personal story involving someone I knew who had many addictions. I understood it when I offered it as such: The responsibility to be free from (fill in the blank). Responsible for being free from lies, addiction, greed, depression, debt, and fear – the chains that bind us, weigh us down, the dis-ease that eats away and destroys us and others. The issue, enslavement of lies, addiction, greed, fear, and the solution entailed by practices that set us free – awareness, truthfulness, accountability, self-discipline, positive action, reinforcement and habit forming of that action, and knowing that the path will not be a linear one, but one that may every once in a while, fall backward a few steps, before you can move forward again – driven by a higher purpose larger than self. Those who chose the obsessive pursuit of independence to do what they want no matter the consequences are bound to its repetition without consciousness or regard to whether it is harmful to themselves or others; they are enslaved to it and are no longer free, wallowing in their foolish freedom –freedom to be a fool.

Deborah, an authentic friend who showed me tough love and loyalty matched to none. She was direct, strong, assertive, extremely intelligent, but most importantly, compassionate. She took responsible freedom to the next level. She practiced responsible freedom, faced every fear head-on by practicing awareness, truthfulness, accountability, self-discipline, positive action, reinforcement, and habit forming of that action, and knowing her higher purpose empowered her. She knew that life’s path would not be a linear one, but one that may every once in a while, take one backward a few steps before one could move forward again. I can honestly say, she always stood for what was right, stood up for the little guy, and followed the rules. She made a lot of enemies because of this. She held no powerful position at work but her superpower was her responsibility to be free from lies, manipulation, and cheating. My father told me that the truth will keep me safe and I have found this to be true in my life thus far. Because Deborah was free from lies, cheating, and manipulation; she was free from blame and innocent from accusation – the truth always kept her free, and safe, and ultimately pointed the finger back to the true wrongdoer. Many thought her malicious because her plain-spokenness eventually incriminated them and unveiled their deceit and trickery. Ultimately, what is done in the dark, came to light. I wish it were always the case, but I also realize that when it comes to light it might be later than sooner and I may not be present to witness it.

In the blind pursuit of money, power, and adoration, many lie about their competency, their efforts, who they know and are, and even their character. In my opinion, lies of any kind are like a disease that exponentially grows and spreads, becomes stronger, and more deadly, and once it gets footing on the masses, cannot truly be remedied or extinguished without a complete dose of awareness, truth, accountability, and higher purpose. And depending when that dose of truth is administered, will determine the extent of damage and whether it can be reversible.
My reflection on responsible freedom and how it may apply in this context; brought me to think about another type of lie – white lies. I thought to myself with some confidence, that a white lie is when one uses a piece of the truth and advertently expresses it as the full truth – the white liar’s morsel of truth is essentially the omission of most of the truth to which, if revealed, would be a complete lie. The truth is the truth not some version of it. The lie is a lie and not some version of it.

There are many ways I practice responsible freedom in my daily personal and professional life. For the most part, my practices are a reflection of my belief in keeping a healthy balance in what I do, think, and feel. My actions, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, take into consideration my well-being and those whom I love. I exercise mental, physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual discipline by creating routines that give me life. I find it crucial to have balance in all of these areas. I find that if I give too much in one area, I am thrown off balance and pay in other areas. I take time to reflect and recover between study, work, and home life. I take responsibility for my own growth. I strive to live in relationships of love and those that do not fit this profile, are held at arm’s length. When I cannot avoid suffering in trials and tribulations, I try to find meaning in the suffering. I like to tell the truth. I believe in being a good person, being good to the world and the people I come across. I believe in doing my best, and with each day that may mean a different thing, but nonetheless, I follow through. I never take my son for granted and will never end the day on a bad note with him. I believe we have a limited determined time on this earth and that life is but a breath. We do not know when the last breath will be taken and nothing is guaranteed.

When it is all said and done, I take great responsibility for how I live my life and affect the world and the people in it. I am accountable for who I am and what I do. I am not perfect and will make mistakes along the way but I am determined to show progress. I will be responsible for my freedom and to be free from that which could or would enslave me.

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And remember, express yourself in any way that brings you joy and relief and share it with the world. You don’t owe it to anyone but yourself. Stay happy, healthy, safe, and happy graphics, my friend.

Thank you for stopping by.

Header image source: National Geographic

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