…the function of freedom is to free somebody else. —Toni Morrison—
We all struggle over the issue of freedom—how much we want; how much we’re comfortable with; how able we are to accept others’ freedom.
We cannot grow and create unless free to do so; in fact, our progress will be proportional to the freedom we feel to breathe, to move, to live fully.
Control is the opposite of freedom. It steals freedom from the controller as well as the one controlled. No one grows emotionally, or spiritually if energy is being expended controlling. And yet, the human condition is such that we passively, if not willingly, practice the game of control with
many principal characters in our lives. It’s a game no one wins. Even when we’re seemingly in control we lose our freedom, too, when our attention
is given over to the control of someone else. No is free until we are all free, and, when free, we will find joy in our work, at home, and with friends. We, too, will discover the measure of joy we encourage others to experience.
If I reach out to love, I’ll find love. If I mete out control, I’ll be diminished in turn.