Finding Freedom Within Yourself

I've lived a very sheltered life. As I look back from time to time. I can remember growing up and begin told not to associate with certain people, places or things because it was "wrong". Every time I wanted to do or try something new, I was told "No!" So in turn as I became older and started to take risks, I doubted myself.  In a sense, I had been bound and gagged if you will, by my environment, my upbringing and most of all myself. It has taken me years and many mistakes to find out what true freedom is. When we think of the word freedom we think of the idea of just begin able to do and say what we please, no one telling us what we can and cannot do and of course when we think of freedom we think of America. This great, great country, with it's natural beauty around us. What about inner freedom? Emotional Freedom? Begin able to look in the mirror and actually not just like but love who and what you see in the looking glass?

I find that in this fast-paced world that we live in, we're often told to never question anything because of that we live a very sheltered life. Never seeking true enlightenment within ourselves. Our lives having been one big contradiction on one hand we're told to be free and that injustice is wrong but on the other hand we're told that if we are to add the words who? what? why or how? to anything we are wrong.  What we often fail to understand is that in order to truly find freedom in anything we must take a step back and question it.

As I grew and started to understand this, my life, myself and the way I viewed the world completely changed, some for the good and bad because what people who often preach free thought and expression don't tell you is that it can be a very scary thing to step away from the status quo of things. Think about it, for the first time ever in your life you're not living in a contradicting world. For the first time you see the world and yourself for who and what it is. Which depending on how you view yourself and the world it will be either a place of turmoil or a place of paradise.

Our goal if you believe there is a goal regrading life is to be in constant balance with ourselves. Which means we have to start looking at the polar opposites of the world and learning to embrace them in ourselves and even challenging them. How many of us have wanted to pursue let's say a new career only to be told no not only by the status quo but by our own hearts and minds?

I can assure you we all have. Growing up I wanted to be a singer (I still do actually) For years I would sing at the drop of a hat. I just knew I had a gift and I knew that I was going to be a star. That was until I became a freshmen in college. I was told by my college professors, job coordinators and even myself (I later dropped out of school) that there was no point in pursuing a career in performance of any type. As time passed I lost my voice, I started to actually fear singing in front of people, even friends. Because I had been told by so many people and even myself that it was not in the cards so I should quit while I was ahead.  Here's where the finding freedom journey starts. Now, is this an easy journey to start? Nope!!

Because it requires that both you and I look in the mirror, to look at our world and to look at ourselves from every corner. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that loved to sing and that I still had a beautiful voice inside of me.  Because of what I had been told, what I was telling myself and also what my environment told me, I allowed my voice to leave me. Once I realized that my voice and confidence started to slowly came back. When I talk about finding freedom from within I mean to look inside yourself and start to question things.

Start adding the words Who, What, Why or How to your life and you'll start to break the cycles and chains that have kept you from fulfilling your true destiny. That book you want to write will never get written if you don't write it. Oftentimes we live by what we know and we fear other avenues. How are you ever going to learn something if you don't ask questions about it?  When you start to question your environment, your life and yourself that is when you find freedom from within and you find your voice.


Live in Balance, Leo Brown