Freedom
“being able to do, say, or think whatever you want without limitation”
With freedom there comes great responsibility. As part of our existence, in human form, we have been granted the most amazing gift: free will. It allows us from moment-to-moment to freely choose our next action, our next word(s), our next thought(s)…knowing that we can freely choose again differently in the next moment.
All that being said, we may be in a situation where it could be challenging in some way to do or say what we would most want to do or say in that moment. There could be minor-to-dire consequences either way…putting us in the position of needing to freely decide whether it’s worth it or not to do or say. Either way we must be willing to take full responsibility for our choices.
Or maybe we’re in a position where our freedom inhibits the freedom of others. What happens then? It may depend on whether we are aware of it or not. Although either way, it serves the greater good of all for us to ask ourselves: is what I’m about to do or say going to negatively impact others or even myself? am I willing to take full responsibility for it? is it worth it? Taking that extra moment to answer questions like this could affect our decision. Knowing the consequences of our decision in advance, makes us more aware of our responsibilities related to that decision afterwards.
For instance if we choose to run a red light, we must do so knowing full well that we could be cited with a driving violation…or we could cause something far worse. While we’re free to run a red light…we must also own up to any consequences (minor or otherwise).
So now…what about our thoughts…regardless of what’s going on around us, what people are saying or doing, we have the freedom to think whatever we want. For instance, we could be absolutely charming with customers or clients, acting as if we enjoy their presence, and yet our thoughts about them could be diametrically opposed to our outward behavior.
And how about the thoughts we have about ourselves? We’re free to think whatever we want about ourselves…good/bad/indifferent. We usually don’t give these thoughts a second thought…out of habit we probably just accept them as gospel…never questioning their validity or where they came from. We forget that here too we need to take responsibility for our thoughts. That if we continue with our negative thoughts about ourselves, they will have a negative impact on everything we do or say…just as positive thoughts will have a more positive impact on everything we do or say.
And just in case you’re wondering…not making use of our free will is also a free-will decision along with the responsibility of its consequences. Ponder that one for a moment.
With today’s MotD, we are encouraged to appreciate the gift of freedom (free will) along with all the responsibilities that comes with it.
How about you? Is freedom a core value for you?
BTW…here’s what it looked like to begin with …
joyfully,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
🌟 bringing sanity to an insane world through the art of mandalas
About the 2024 Mandalas of the Day
Each day I will create and post a mandala inspired by one of 366 “value” words chosen randomly. The objective being to discover for myself which ones would best represent my core values…and by doing so, I hope it inspires you to determine your own.
Mandala of the Day 