Beginnings and Endings

Writing my thoughts, feelings, ideas, hopes and dreams is my attempt to 'be like water'. (Thank you Bruce Lee.) Water must flow to remain clear and healthy. So also must one's thoughts.

I think there is nothing more crippling than the stifling of someone's thoughts, questions, feelings, ideas, hopes, dreams. Such is the prison from which I have escaped. Freedom can have many meanings to many people. For me, freedom to think, and to be who I AM, is the greatest freedom of all. It is also just a little intimidating to experience this freedom for the first time. Everything is subject to re-evaluation, and lo, and behold, everything can be re-evaluated as often as desired.

Thus, I am beginning the process of opening doors and looking around. I find that much of what I have been taught was little more than someone else's idea of reality. Someone else's foundation for control. No, I'm not talking about a conspiracy theory. I'm talking about the human need to control our environment in order to feel safe. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It's quite reasonable to want to feel safe and to attempt to ensure this safety, not only for oneself, but also for those we love. However, I have learned that building walls to shut out the world and/or everyone who thinks differently, is more effective as a prison than as a protection. We don't need to control everyone else. We need only to control our own choices and responses.

I am learning to walk about without walls. I am finding that many things I once thought I believed make no sense. I am feeling free to breathe the fresh air. And it is a good feeling.