Happy Freedom Day!
Where can you use more freedom in your life? Freedom means – the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; the power of self-determination attributed to the will; acting, thinking or believing the way that you choose. Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” January 6, 1941 shared the Four Freedoms as he saw them: In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
- The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world.
- The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
- The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world.
- The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world.
We wish you these freedoms and more:
Freedom from stuff – acquiring and caring for things that you don’t need or love takes time and attention you could better spend somewhere else. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was a bestselling book that explained how to spark joy by decluttering. Whether it’s your home or your office, is there some clutter you can free yourself from?
Freedom from time pressure – we recently came across a really intriguing concept of time. While everyone thinks that they are too busy to fit in something else, when crisis hits miraculously they make time. The reality is that we make time for what matters. See this TED talk where Laura Vanderkam offers a few practical strategies to help find more time for what matters to us, so we can “build the lives we want in the time we’ve got.”
Freedom from ANT’s – squash “automatic negative thoughts” with three quick steps from Dr Amen. Write them down; investigate whether they are true; and finally talk back by telling the thought that you refuse to accept it! There are many people who have negative self-talk running in the back of their minds. Freedom from these thoughts brings freedom to have positive, creative, and innovative thoughts. Wow, there are so many more freedoms’ we wish for you but we’re off to a picnic so that’s it for now! Wishing you freedom on this July the 4th, 2017.
