THE FOURTH OF JULY

     The Fourth of July. It's festive and hot; the height of summer and barbeques galore. It's parades and fireworks and small children with sparklers. It's a fair amount of patient waiting for things to begin. It's loud, and somewhat frantic; a chaotic celebration of freedom and independence.
     Let's pause for a moment before the activities begin and consider our own personal sense of freedom. Are we free? Do we feel free? Do we act free? Or are we oppressed in a self-imposed kind of way by our life circumstances? Are we enslaved to our children, our jobs, our families, or our own negative judgment and criticism? Are we martyred? Unappreciated? Do we feel stuck?
     Everything is a choice in life. Everything. Let's choose freedom. Let's choose to enjoy the things we do and the people we are. Let's wear life like a loose-fitting garmet with no stress, no strain, no imprisonment, and no warfare. It's up to us to feel free. Freedom is not our right. It's our choice.

I choose freedom.