Freedom – what does it mean to you?
Freedom – what does it mean to you?
When I think of freedom I often think of the opposite and what I think it is not. Freedom is not imprisonment, slavery, injustice, or corruption, big things like that. However, as I look closer, freedom can actually be a small thing we tend to take for granted. As I am standing waiting for my train to take me to work this morning on this 4th of July, I think a...bout my own freedom. I am free to stand in this train station wherever I want. I have the freedom to choose the exact spot. I am free to walk around as my physical body is healthy and my legs and feet functional to take me wherever I choose to go. A wheelchair sign tells me that this isn’t so for everyone. As I listen to my favorite music I realize that I am free to choose any song I like. I suddenly become very grateful as I realize that I have functional ears and a mind to process the sounds and to transform them into emotions evoked by the singer’s voice and rhythms, which make me feel good. As I step onto the train I am free to choose any seat I want. As we know this was not always like this in our world’s history. A woman smiles at me as she reads the letters on my T-shirt. It reads “Obama for president”. I smile back. I am happy and proud to wear those words today on the 4th of July. I realize again that I am free. I am free to choose these clothes on this day. Today I choose America. Today I celebrate freedom by praying for everybody’s freedom, whatever that might mean to you.
Happy 4th of July!
Written by Barbara Bullock, July 4th, 2012
When I think of freedom I often think of the opposite and what I think it is not. Freedom is not imprisonment, slavery, injustice, or corruption, big things like that. However, as I look closer, freedom can actually be a small thing we tend to take for granted. As I am standing waiting for my train to take me to work this morning on this 4th of July, I think a...bout my own freedom. I am free to stand in this train station wherever I want. I have the freedom to choose the exact spot. I am free to walk around as my physical body is healthy and my legs and feet functional to take me wherever I choose to go. A wheelchair sign tells me that this isn’t so for everyone. As I listen to my favorite music I realize that I am free to choose any song I like. I suddenly become very grateful as I realize that I have functional ears and a mind to process the sounds and to transform them into emotions evoked by the singer’s voice and rhythms, which make me feel good. As I step onto the train I am free to choose any seat I want. As we know this was not always like this in our world’s history. A woman smiles at me as she reads the letters on my T-shirt. It reads “Obama for president”. I smile back. I am happy and proud to wear those words today on the 4th of July. I realize again that I am free. I am free to choose these clothes on this day. Today I choose America. Today I celebrate freedom by praying for everybody’s freedom, whatever that might mean to you.
Happy 4th of July!
Written by Barbara Bullock, July 4th, 2012
Comments
Post a Comment