Finding Freedom: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin
Freedom Reigns
This post is a continuation of the story of my journey to gain sovereignty in my life.
It’s a story about freedom.
I see a future earth where all who inhabit it enjoy the liberty of self-determination, in the truest sense of the word. I know that this is our inalienable right.
This gift does not come to us externally though. Freedom is a quality that is created within. And yet, we continue to point fingers at the people who we perceive have imprisoned us. But nothing outside of us has the power to dictate our reality unless we choose it to be so.
“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” Martin Luther King
So, the process of claiming freedom can start no other place but within. This is the truth that my journey has taught me. And this is the story that I must tell.
The Magic Mirror
I recently listened to a Simon Sinek interview on YouTube, where he was asked about the current state of US politics.
Sinek expressed his disappointment in our leaders across party lines. This didn’t surprise me. But what he said next, did. Sinek posed a broader set of questions that he believes need to be asked:
“Are our politicians a reflection of us?
Are our politicians a mirror raised to us? Should we be the first to throw stones, or should we accept that we get the politicians we deserve? If we want them to change, maybe we should change ourselves? Maybe we’re the ones that are divisive? Maybe we’re the ones that are narcissistic? Maybe we’re the ones who are putting our needs in front of everyone else’s? And if you look at the way we are raising our kids and running our companies, I don’t know if we can say that we’re any better? And so maybe instead of demanding that they change, we should demand that we change? And, take some accountability for own actions. And, maybe then we’ll get the politicians we deserve.”
That blew me away. I hadn’t heard anyone openly speak about our politicians and government being a reflection of what we need to resolve within ourselves.
Reality isn’t a Random Set of Circumstances
After my world collapsed around me, I was on a mission to gain a deeper understanding of how this earth gig, we call ‘life’, actually works.
I knew that life wasn’t happening in a vacuum. I realized that it wasn’t just a random and chaotic set of circumstances. And I was starting to understand that if you truly want to be free, you need to go beyond the superficial to the nuts and bolts of what makes our reality tick.
One of the very first truths that I discovered is that our reality — our relationships, interactions, and experiences — is a mirror reflection for our inner world, our consciousness. This is otherwise known as our thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives, which also ends up defining our intent and action.
Working on the Reflection
At first I didn’t actually trust the guidance of the reflection. I needed to practice living this belief before I could actually know it to be true.
But, after awhile, I began to read the signs I was given in the reflection — my experience and my interaction with others — and a pattern emerged. The pattern showed me that I was actually in charge of my reality.
Three Ways to Use the Reflection:
- See the Reflection, Heal it Within Yourself, Change the Reflection: I recognize someone being judgmental towards me or someone else. I think about areas of my life where I could be more open-minded. As I change this in myself, I experience less judgement in others.
- See the Reflection, Choose the Meaning, Change the Reflection: I experience something that leaves me feeling victimized. I can choose to hang onto victimhood, and continue to have interactions that are demoralizing and disheartening. Or, I can see the experience as an opportunity for growth. I can flip the script. I can look for areas in my life where I can take more responsibility, take ownership, and change the reflection to empowerment.
- See the Reflection, Don’t let the Reflection Stop You, Create the Reflection of Your Vision: You have a vision of what you want to create. Disappointment, chaos, frustration, failure etc. occurs. So what. That’s the nature of this experience. The magic happens when you don’t allow the reflection to knock you off your path. Not permanently anyway. You can fall off. Just get back up and get back on. Thumb your nose at the reflection or embrace it as an opportunity, but either way, get back on that path.
The pattern that emerged for me is that I can both CREATE and CHANGE the reflection. I am in charge. Nobody else. That’s why the mirror is magical.
A Map Just For You
What I am saying here is, learn from my experience.
And, STOP GIVING AWAY YOUR POWER.
Reality is the mirror reflection of your map to freedom. It actually provides the directions to move out of the patterns in your life that leave you feeling trapped and miserable.
Use the reflection. Use the map.
Practice this. Every. Single. Day.
And you will experience the sweet taste of freedom.
