What does freedom mean to you? I was reminded of this great right as I visited Mt. Rushmore last night and then again this morning.
It’s an important question to consider. For me, it’s been a constant thought running in the back of my mind for most of my adult life. I knew when I was younger that I had certain expectations that I must fulfill. I was expected to do well in school and sports from my dad and be polite and a good son from my mom.
I was expected to finish my university studies and go out into the world. All of these things I did with mixed but passable results. My life’s reality has been about honoring my own freedom to do things, think things, says things and travel the world, as well as, the freedom to create, to build and to grow. These things I’ve cherished and have held as constant cornerstones in my thoughts and actions.
I’ve also come to realize that freedom means different things to different people.
I’ve also come to know that you must have freedom of thought not bound by the thoughts of others but derived from your own deductions, meanderings, and pensiveness.
In my mind, freedom is a form of full responsibility mixed with the right amount of civil co-operation and personal consideration.
One must honor one’s life, one’s liberty and one’s pursuit of happiness. Thanks, T. Jefferson for your astute penmanship which constantly reminds us of what we’ve always known.
Freedom is everything.
