The Freedom is Yours

Original watercolor by Sara Page, Founder of The Open Life

"Nobody can make you do anything, or feel any certain way. 
YOU decide.  I know it seems like this isn't true sometimes, 
but you really do have the Freedom (and the responsibility) 
to choose your response to every situation."

This is something I am trying to teach my girls right now. They are 5 and 7, and this is understandably a hard concept to grasp.  "But she's doing this!" or "But she won't give it back!" And that is a reason to act like a crazy person yourself?

It is not just toddlers and 2nd graders that have trouble controlling their response to challenging situations.  We all do.  This message is as much for me, to remind myself, as it is for anyone looking for more freedom.  IT is OURS for the taking. We already have it.  We abuse it.  We do! We don't want to really take ownership that the things that happen to us in our life are just things that are happening. They don't have control over our state of being, our way of interacting with the world, or our level of internal peace.  

One of the most important things we can work on, is our intention to choose.  Things will continue to come up in our lives and present themselves as challenges to put this into action.  The next time a situation arises and you feel like it is giving you no choice but to act or say or behave a certain way, back up.  You do have a choice.  Knowing what you have a choice about is the key.  You don't have a choice on what another person says or does.  You don't have a choice about whether a given scenario resolves to your liking or not.  You don't have a choice in what your kids do or say or choose.  (That one is hard).... and so it is not about control. It is not about strength of will.  

IT is ABOUT CHOOSING your own response.  That's it. 
That's all you really have control over.  

This blog is SOOO written just for me.  I need constant reminding of this.

So the next time I feel challenged, afraid, mad, or unsure in a situation, I will be intentional about recognizing what I can choose, and what I cannot.  

I will choose to breathe. I will choose to think through my options.  I will choose to send peace and goodness in all directions.  I will choose to accept what I cannot change, and I will choose an empowered meaning and empowered action in what I do next.

I have the Freedom to choose my response.  No, I have the Responsibility.  To those I interact with each and every day, as this is actually a key to showing love and respect.  I hold no one else accountable for my feelings, and I act from an empowered place.  

And in doing so, I give others the FREEDOM to do the same.

With an Open Heart,

Sara