Lessons on freedom from my dog and braveheart!

What does it truly mean to be free? I’m around some that make the erroneous assumption that being free means you don’t have any responsibilities if that is possible.  Too many assume that freedom doesn’t cost you anything.  The reality is that your freedom costs you everything if you are willing to pursue it! One of my all time favorite movies is Braveheart.  I know that a good portion of the movie doesn’t totally follow the life history of William Wallace. Yet, what stands out from the movie is how the passion of a few to pursue freedom for their country ultimately provides freedom and inspiration for many!

This last week I’ve struggled with what stops a person in life from experiencing personal freedom? I know that we are hugely fortunate to live in a country and time where no one is a prisoner to anyone or thing unless we choose to allow it to happen! I know that it’s easy to make excuses or blame someone else for your lack of freedom. Yet, most likely the biggest cause for not experiencing freedom is your fault! Why is it usually the case that I’m my own worse enemy? I’m the one who too often stops myself from becoming the person I want to become.

William Wallace along with many others over the history of mankind has been willing to sacrifice everything in order to gain true freedom. Often this comes at a high cost that benefits others before yourself.   I so much appreciate this quote from E.E. Cummings, “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.”  So how do we become emancipated from the pressure to be like everyone else?

Here’s what I’ve learned from my dog Freckles about being emancipated.  What’s amazing about my Freckles is the fact that she in many ways is both tamable and untamable at the same time. We go for long walks with our dogs everyday. Our other dogs typically don’t go too far away in our field where we walk. Freckles, on the other hand, is always peering around looking for the coyote, field mice or others walking with their dogs. Yes, I confess to the fact that I get nervous when my dog disappears from my eyesight. The amazing thing though is that only a call or whistle and she will eventually come running back to us.

So yes at times I can imagine myself being William Wallace or even my dog Freckles. The challenge is that I’m me and no one else. So why do I struggle with attempting to live up to the expectations of others? Why isn’t it possible for me to stop being a people pleaser and just be myself? My brain tells me that freedom ultimately does require real effort and responsibility on my part. So why is it so difficult to take the steps required to achieve a freedom that ultimately is worth dying for? Why choose to live in a self-made prison?

I fear that too many today are living in their own self-made prison not having a Braveheart figure or dog like my Freckles in their lives to inspire them.  Is it worth the risk to step outside the box that you and others have created for your existence? I believe it’s time to become that person who is both tamable and predictable and also untamable and unpredictable!