Be your own "Freedom Fighter"

Today is a day when the past meets up with the present and with it comes the realization of how that past has created my present condition. Today is a day when I say with total acknowledgement and confidence that I need not depend on anyone! The choices that I make, my own life decisions, are just that, my own. And no one can control that...if I choose not to let them.

For years I have let others control me, my decisions, and my choices. I have realized how much confidence and self-esteem I lacked to be able to allow others to dictate who I am, what I will be, how I will react or perceive my own reality. My realization now is that I “can” control myself. I can control my decisions, perceptions, and life.

My life, for many years, has been one full of anger, bitterness, loneliness, neediness, regrets, unfulfilled wants and dreams. Slowly I have been closing that door. Some days I push hard on that door and other days it seems to creep open again. But a couple of weeks ago I watched a documentary that put things into perspective for me.

I watched a documentary about the Freedom Fighters and Dr. Martin Luther King. It's a story that we have all heard about or read about...but I’m not sure that I fully took the message to heart. I mean I’ve heard it but I never actually “HEARD” it. I always knew that Dr. King believed and practiced 'non-violent' tactics. I  knew how the Freedom Fighters faced extreme injustice and atrocious behavior from their counterparts and yet even in the face of this they remained respectful, calm, and steadfast. I knew this...but I never “REALLY KNEW THIS”. What I mean is that I never thought of it in the sense that even in the face of such great adversity, discrimination, and hatred, you, I, and everyone can stand firm in what we believe in. You see; hatred, anger, and violence really are just ways to say I’m scared, I’m insecure, I’m not sure about what I am doing, and I cannot accept change. When you believe so firmly in something that you know in your heart is right and good for others then there is no need to be anything other than peaceful, calm, reserved, and persistent. Hatred and anger ONLY ever breeds more hatred and anger. They do not respect! They are POWERFUL forces that do not care what they touch or destroy!

The dream that Dr. King dreamed and the way that he accomplished that dream is a technique that can be used in your everyday lives. Release the bitterness and anger. Release anything that does not create happiness. Be persistent in your fight to make a positive change in your life. "We shall overcome" stands true for so many situations. We shall and can overcome any situation when we begin to help ourselves, when we begin to think with a clear mind, when we act with self-discipline rather than anger, hatred, or defensiveness. When you start to search your soul and really listen to what is around you....I mean really listen and take it in.... you begin to see things in a clearer way. Be your own “freedom fighter” and free your mind!