As the concentration camp prisoners entered the Auschwitz concentration camp, they were cruelly mocked with the sign above the gates, “Arbeit Macht Frei”, which translated means “Work Makes You Free”. This was just another one of the “big lies” of the nazis as they had no intention of granting freedom to any of the inmates. In a sense, you are constantly doing the same thing with your own precious life, creating your own little Auschwitz. You do this whenever you grant your permission for someone or something to come into your thoughts and dictate to you what you are to think or how you are to feel. For example, someone may say “He made me so angry” or “She made me so jealous”. When you relinquish power to that someone or something that is now dictating the show and pulling your strings, you have just walked through the gates of Auschwitz. It doesn’t have to be that way. Your natural state of existence is freedom with the choice to exercise free will over your thoughts and feelings at any time in any place.
Freedom. It’s a word that conjures up a multitude of images and meanings. It’s a concept, a way of living, that human beings have fought for, have died for, countless times throughout mankind’s history. What does the word “freedom” mean to you? In his famous 1941 “four freedoms” speech, Franklin Roosevelt described four essential human freedoms that people of the world were striving for: freedom of speech; freedom of worship; freedom from want; and freedom from fear. The concept of freedom has always been dear to the hearts of Americans. The state of New Hampshire even made their state motto, “Live Free or Die”.
For the most part, human beings are creatures of habit. Our tendency in life is to form habits of behavior. We feel secure when we follow known paths. After awhile, we are on auto-pilot taking the path of thoughts, words, feelings, beliefs with which we are familiar. We take the path of shaping our thoughts, our feelings, even our beliefs to conform to the satisfying of our fears. Fears of what others will think of us. Fears that we will not be accepted. Fears that we will fail at something we are trying to do. Fears we will be unloved or unprotected. The problem is that by giving up your sovereignty to think and feel as you choose, you have voluntarily entered through the gates of Auschwitz. You have surrendered the only true freedom that you have in this world…..your thoughts, your feelings, your beliefs.
Ultimate freedom, where you and only you choose what you think and how you feel, is the way we were meant to live and grow and thrive. Ultimate freedom requires ultimate responsibility on your part. Nobody makes you angry. Nobody makes you fulfilled. Nobody makes you sad. Nobody makes your life filled with joy. Nobody makes you nervous. Nobody makes you feel at peace. Every time, each time, you choose. You. The freedom to choose is yours. The power to choose is yours. It always has been. Live free or die…..I think New Hampshire got it right with their state motto. Choose to live free. It is a great way to live.