What Gives Us Meaning
If not the freedom of choice
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way…between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
— Viktor Frankl
When I read this my mind goes to the concept of giving away your power.
Have you ever had your power taken? Stripped from your soul, standing in front of everyone empty-handed and naked. Everything around you suddenly hurts when it happens. You feel responsible.
Everyone’s sorrow is somehow your burden.
What If I told you you have an unrealistic perception? Your power cannot be taken but only given. Your freedom also goes with it. What if I told you that your only responsibility is your own feelings, thoughts and actions?
How many times have you blamed someone else whenever you were upset, mad or heartbroken? What if I told you it’s your only obligation to be responsible for your thoughts going in that direction? That it’s you who allows your thoughts to happen and it’s those thoughts that also create your emotions, that in turn influence your behavior and it just keeps going.
Do you see the connection?
So many people are offended by these kinds of questions and this way of thinking! They get angry. But we all know anger’s a secondary emotion. We have to look underneath to find the true answer to the question of what we’re feeling.
For me it was fear and embarrassment.
I expressed my anger with brutal words meant to cause anguish and cut deep. I sought revenge by hurting myself. I wanted everyone to know how much pain they were responsible for causing. Imagine my surprise when I realized I was the culprit.
I was ashamed.
I was scared.
I was embarrassed by myself.
I feared the reality of having to be accountable for the destruction in my life. It actually wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine. I gave away my power. My happiness and success were sacrificed.
I was embarrassed for all of the times I allowed whatever circumstance to take me away from myself. I was embarrassed that so many people had control of my tounge. I was embarrassed that I was just now seeing it after so long!
Realizations births awareness that become the seeds of new found freedom.
So I began gardening.
Piece by piece.
I took it back.
I started small. I would take it back every time I made the choice not to react. I would take it back when I declined to engage in a toxic exchange. I took it back with every decision I made, not for others, but to benefit the future I was set out to make. With every small step, I regained my power.
I was paving a new way.
Life has become so much easier today. It’s a sense of relief that I cannot explain. Accountability sounds so heavy, responsibility sounds daunting causing so many to stay stuck in their pain and for that I promise they have already found someone to blame.
But I don’t have to worry about their issues, unless I choose to, ever again! The only thing I control is the way I think, the way I respond to what others say, the way I choose to live my life day-to-day.
That is freedom.
That tiny moment hidden in silence.
It’s no wonder I was always so lost. No wonder I couldn’t find it. I have always feared the quiet. I was always quick to fill it. Today I am grateful for those moments, they have rearranged my whole demeanor. I was so scared of the silence and the whole time it was exactly what I needed in my life.
My attitude has had a spiritual alignment, no longer hiding. Where once I felt fear now my true self gets to appear.
Confident. Unwavering. Powerful.
I’m here.
Thank you Marcus aka Gregory Maidman for the always wonderful prompts!!!!! I just recently bought this book by Viktor Frankl and have been absolutely fixated on it! I highly recommend it to those who have not read it!
Below is the article from which I was blessed with this inspiration, I can only hope my take on it is enjoyable for you guys! Thank you Ravyne Hawke for all the support as well on your publication, I absolutely love sharing my work here!
Thank you all so much for reading! Until next time!
