On the days of Thankfulness
1. I am thankful for my mom, who tells me I'm not crazy, when I probably am. Who loves diets as much as I do which conflicts directly with our mutual love of ice cream. Who lets me be free.
That word there is another key to happiness--"free". Whatever that means to you, it's probably a big part of your happiness. I mean, we didn't throw those cases of tea off the British ships for nothing. Think about it, have you ever ever heard some one say, "This is the best time of my life--I am completely confined and have absolutely no say in what I do and the chain that is holding me to this anvil barely chafes at all!" Probably not?.
What does freedom mean? Please don't send me your third-grade President's day essays, because I do not have time to read them. I have a novel to write, gosh dern it! Man, I should really get on that. ANYWAY, I have felt freedom in a cathartic way at several points in life. Many times, it is relative, in that I-didnt-know-how-trapped-I-was kinda way. This is the freedom you feel when the bus driver let's the counselors off the bus to use the restroom without the campers after you've spent the entire day at Hershey Park with them. I have never run off a bus so fast. I vaguely remember skipping through the parking lot yelling "I'm free!"
Often it comes with a place, and sometimes it's that feeling of a fresh start. I felt this the first time I spent a summer in Vermont or when I first moved to Philadelphia and realized I didn't know anyone. Sometimes, it's the freedom of feeling completely comfortable somewhere. I felt this as I looked out my farmhouse window in Maine, knowing that all I had to do that day was be in a play and then drink red wine on the porch with my friends.
Let's look at the ingredients of freedom:
1. Financial security: You don't have to make a lot, but face it, you are not very free if you do not think you are going to make rent this month.
2. The ability to choose, but the lack of choices: I've said it over and over again, people DON'T LIKE having a lot of options. BUT we need the ability to choose regardless. In Maine, it was should I watch a movie in the farmhouse or go for a swim in the lake? Those were pretty much your only options. Still, if I had been told I HAD to swim in the lake, I would not have enjoyed it that much.
3. Self-reliance: My mother always tells me that it's different when you have your own kids, but it's hard to feel free with little ones (or maybe not so little ones) relying on you everyday. Being sure of yourself and happy with yourself without the neediness of other people is an ingredient of freedom.
4. Simplicity: It's one of my goals for a reason. There is not a lot of freedom in running between three jobs, juggling a social life, and racing up to school. I felt more freedom when I had one job to do everyday, a set group of friends who hung out every night, and someone making my salad for every meal (I also lost eight pounds that summer)
Of course, people say those summer jobs are not real. They are more like camp than anything else. Still, I wish I could have that freedom I felt there in my everyday life.
Simplicity :)
Energy :(
Mindfulness :(
Make time :)
Don't apologize :)
Fun in failure :(
"The more decisions that you are forced to make alone, the more you are aware of your freedom to choose."~Thorton Wilder
I don't have a picture today, but please note that the ones I did find all had people with their arms outstretched on a beach, or had people reaching out to touch birds. Which is a really gross thing to do.
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