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E-Quipped to... Find Freedom

This newsletter introduces 'Finding Freedom', a comprehensive article found on my website.

Monday 27^th April is Freedom Day in South Africa – the annual celebration of the first non-racial democratic elections in 1994 – and so a good time to contemplate freedom and what it really means.

If you look up the word ‘freedom’ in a dictionary you will see that it is a noun and has two definitions:

1. Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.
2. Freedom is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.

We all know and understand those meanings, but how many of us have really thought about freedom in the broader sense and what it means to us? Below are some quotes from influential people. I encourage you to contemplate these and to decide what freedom means to you!

Quotes to Contemplate

It is probably most appropriate to start with a quote from Nelson Mandela – after all it was Nelson Mandela who was voted in as president in that first democratic election of 1994 that we are celebrating on Freedom Day.

Nelson Mandela

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Do you live in a way that ‘respects and enhances the freedom of others’? I am sure you want to immediately say, “Yes of course!”, but think about it… how tolerant are you of other people’s ideas and opinions? Do you allow people to have their own views or are you always trying to make them do it your way, or see it your way? Do you shout others down or intimidate them if they dare speak up against you? If you do, then you are not respecting and enhancing the freedom of others.

If you truly want to be free I encourage you to make a conscious choice to respect and enhance the freedom of others. Instead of forcing people to think and do it your way, rather sit back and listen to others. Allow them to have their own ideas and opinions. You don’t have to agree with them, you just have to tolerate them. Work on being more tolerant. 

Peter Marshall (Scottish Immigrant in America; Served as chaplain to the US Senate for two years after the Second World War)

“May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as an opportunity to do what is right.”

This quote reminds us that freedom is not about doing exactly what we want at the expense of others.

Sadly in the world today too many people think it is ok to do what they want. They lie, steal, cheat, murder, riot, strike and make demands for their own gain. They prevent others from living a life according to their own chosen beliefs. The tragedy is that they refuse to see the bigger picture – that such behaviour and attitude takes away everybody’s freedom, including their own. Such people are not free – they are trapped in a destructive cycle of greed and small mindedness.

Are you like that? Do you take the opportunity to do what is right? Or do you just do what suits you at the expense of others? If you want to experience freedom make a conscious choice to do what is right.

Albert Camus (French Nobel Prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher)

“Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.”

This is a beautiful quote; full of hope. We all have the opportunity to become a better person. Do you experience this freedom? Are you becoming a better person? You can become better in so many ways – you can become kinder, wiser, more considerate, stronger, healthier, more spiritual, more educated. You can develop your skills and talents, you can do more for others... you get the picture. What are you doing to be better I encourage you to make a conscious choice to decide what it is that will make you better… and then do it!

Jean-Paul Sartre (20th century intellectual, writer and activist who put forth pioneering ideas on existentialism).

“Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.”

We probably all have cause to moan and complain, because life is not perfect – it throws hardships our way.  We can all choose a victim mentality if we want to, but that traps us into a spiral of negativity.

If you want to be free, I encourage you to make the conscious choice to be a victor rather than a victim. Look at the positives in your life – find the lessons from your experiences and hardships and use them to find freedom.

For further quotes to contemplate read: Finding Freedom

What do YOU Think?

Share your wisdom with others… What stops YOU from finding freedom?

Leave your comments here

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You may have been forwarded this email by a friend. In that case, allow me to introduce myself. I am a psychologist, speaker, trainer, coach and hat lover based in Durban, South Africa.

My goal is to inspire you to make the changes necessary to live the life of your dreams! I believe that by developing your YOU-Q - the term I have created to describe your unique intelligence, creativity and wisdom - you can find your Inner winner and live a Be-YOU-tiful life right now.

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