Free

Free
/frē/
Adjective

1.  Not under the control or in the power of another; able to act or be done as one wishes.
2. Exempt from external authority, interference, restriction; independent; unrestricted.

Independence Day always seems to bring the word "free" to mind.  But this is not a political post.  It can't be--not for me, not today.  It can't be a political post because I am not feeling particularly patriotic on this most patriotic of days for Americans.  I don't think we as a people are particularly free right now.  We are being led by two corrupt political parties and a bunch of politicians who seek on a daily basis to silence our voices and who shamelessly say things like the only voices who matter are their own.  They pay no heed to our protests, our letters, our emails, our votes, our needs, our choices, our voices, or the freedom of democracy we are supposed to have.

 So no, on this Independence Day I will not be posting a patriotic post.  Instead I choose to focus on this word "free" and what it means for me and my life in the here and now.

So what does it mean to be free?  Is it as the definition states:  not under the control or power of authority?  I'm not sure we are ever truly exempt from some sort of authority.  There are rules. There are government agencies and employers and societies built around upholding those rules.  These institutions serve as authorities and we are indeed, to some extent, under their control.  I am also not sure we are ever truly unrestricted.  We are restricted by our own desires, our own motivations, our own choices. We are restricted by codes of conduct and moral values and the expectations of others.  Those restrictions are not necessarily bad, but they are restrictions nonetheless.

I think, for myself, to be "free" is not to be unrestricted or even to be your own sole authority.  To be free is to be without limit.  To be free is to be able to make your own choices and live your life on a daily basis in the way in which you see fit.  Mostly, though, mostly, to be free is simply a feeling.  It's a feeling of elation and boundlessness, of overwhelming love and a lightness of heart and bliss that cannot be adequately described with words.

To some being free is becoming an adult. To others it is being single, unencumbered by the obligations that come with coupledom.  Some are only free if they are politically free.  Others feel free when traveling the globe.   

I have experienced all of these layers of freedom. I am an adult. I have been single. I have been politically free, and I have been blessed enough to travel to some far away places. 

Yet, I am freest here.  In the walls of my house, on my front porch, at the park, walking along the beach, hiking a mountain trail....with my husband and our children.  I am freest here--no matter where 'here' is--as long as I am with them where I can give them my love freely. 

So on this Independence Day I wish all of you freedom.  I wish you to be in your freest place with the people whom you adore most.