Freedom doesn’t come from doing all you want. Freedom in fact comes from having the discipline of knowing your true self and how to regulate it. How to find peace within the chaos unshattered by the outer world. How to identify your strengths and weaknesses and honor them knowing that as a human you may have some limitations. To overflow with love and acceptance from within so that that abundance may flow outwardly to those you care about and love. This is where true freedom lies. Freedom is setting healthy, respectful boundaries with others and knowing how and when to diplomatically say no. This is freedom. Without such self discipline, awareness and self honor you are the opposite of being free you are in fact a prisoner. A prisoner to unhealthy social norms, a prisoner to emotional or physical abuse, a prisoner to low self esteem allowing others to easily manipulate and control you without acknowledging your boundaries.

Freedom is knowing and accepting yourself so well that you do not easily get triggered in the face of hostility and adversity. Freedom is the ability to draw the line on what is acceptable and what is not and allowing others to acknowledge that. This is true freedom. When you know and understand and honor yourself from the inside then you are not easily affected, triggered or manipulated by the outside.

This freedom is especially important in relationships too. Today many youngsters throw themselves into relationships such as marriage, partnerships, job opportunities expecting outward gratifications to fill them up from the inside and make them happier. Unfortunately a lot of them fail. Today there’s a shocking rise in divorce rate, unemployment and bankruptcy for exactly this reason which is that most people haven’t found happiness and satisfaction within before seeking it outwardly so again they are prisoners to outer influences. Social media and advertisements in our consumer driven world only make it worse targeting and magnifying our deepest insecurities. Consumerism purposely aggravate our deepest concerns in order to make us believe that freedom and happiness lay in material gratification. Today a lot of people are manipulated by the media to believe that happiness and wholeness is achieved by purchasing. Feeling good and satisfied within is not good for business. We see societies today obsessed with luxurious brands, race cars, expensive holidays, plastic surgery and substance abuse wether they can afford them or not and this is another form of imprisonment. The more we try to numb our inner insecurities through shopping, jumping into relationships, physical alterations or substance abuse the insecurities almost always resurface. All outward gratifications fail to provide the inward gratification achieved by self contentment and acceptance which is true freedom. Happiness starts from within and only then can you truly be free.

This is why I urge you to discover yourself, to forgive yourself and to honor yourself and your limitations and set your boundaries so you could grow and flourish with an abundance of love, faith and self acceptance. I urge you to do so so we can break the cycle to this consumer driven society that dictates how we should or shouldn’t feel or what we should be doing. How or what you should look like, how to be a better mom or earn that higher pay check. When you are thirsty and lost on the inside you are easily manipulated and distracted or triggered by the outside. So once again the real freedom lies within, in honoring and acknowledging yourself and holding on to faith and having the discipline to draw the line on what is truly important to your self and what is not.

On this note I end this months entry and I encourage you to find your passions, set some achievable goals for yourself and love the path to healing. Give yourself credit for taking the time to learn, read, meditate, excertcise and take care of yourself mentally and physically. Enjoy being you and fill yourself up from the inside before aspiring for that promotion, vacation, spouse or car for those are just the topping of the ice cream while the contents of that ice cream is all you.

Much Love!