BEING FREE

If we are not careful, we can create a false image or projection of what it means to be “free” or what it means to be an individual who can love unconditionally.

When we attach ourselves to this image, we can corrupt the image by making it an ideal to live up to, rather than embracing where we find ourselves at each moment. For example, let’s say a situation arises, and we are overtaken by jealousy. When an emotional reaction like this occurs that is different from our idealized image of unconditional love, wea re tempted to believe in the false image of self and impose a condition that supports that image. We then judge ourselves for the emotional reaction, saying something like, “You should be more spiritual than that!” In this way, the noble image of freedom and unconditional love has become a tool of self-domestication.

But if we accept ourselves unconditionally, including the fact that we have just reacted, it allows us to free up our energy and move through the emotion, rather than stuffing it down by denying the truth. Unconditional acceptance gives us perspective, because we are no longer trying to blame or defend; we are simply accepting what is.

Practice

Welcome every aspect of yourself today. Forget the image of perfection that you may have created in your mind and realize that you are perfect in actuality.

Living a Life of Awareness

~ Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.