It’s oddly satirical that we all seek the freedom to live and love, but we aren’t really free to be. In our daily lives we are governed by rules, regulations and even by expectations placed upon us to be a certain way.
When we fail to follow the rules and regs, no matter how silly they may be, we are penalised. When we fail to meet others expectations, we are criticised.
In reality, we are far from free. However, to live a life of personal freedom is certainly as close as one can get!
Personal freedom is a gift I discovered a few years ago following a personal book journey I had taken. I had begun reading every book relative to becoming the authentic woman I was intended to be. The woman I deserved to be. I discovered so many facets of my own life that I had buried deep inside of me. Knowing my own power, living my truth and understanding my very own freedom we’re just a few of the important aspects. And through this discovery, I began to understand the most important part of our personal freedom: the freedom to express.
For some, this may mean dancing. For others, it may be more of a hand’s on art such as painting or wood carving. Some folks enjoy gardening. Others, jewelry making. Expression is as endless as the sky is blue!
My husband is an artist in video creation. This is his method of expression; his art. He loves to sit in front of the camera and share his struggles, his wisdom and even his experiences with the camera. He isn’t trying to access or demand reactions. He is being real!
I have a dear friend whose preference is painting on HUGE canvas frames the detailed inner workings of flowers and plants. She uses acrylic paints, which is deemed different within the acceptable world of painting. I have another very dear friend whose body and capability is her art, her expression. She is her own piece of clay, and carefully molds and shapes both the inside and the out to absolute perfection by practicing strength movements and holistic nutrition.
There is no wrong or right way to express. No one modality. No right method. No correct way. In fact, as part of true expression, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE CRITICIZED by a handful who are envious of your freedom.
This is why expression in personal freedom is so important! It teaches us how to not take things personally. How to let the resentments and critical word choices and opinions GOOOOOO?
That is the beauty of expression…..when you no longer hold concern for the opinions of someone else regarding your works.
Think about what it would feel like if you could achieve FREEDOM through expression without having any concern for what someone chooses to PLUCK OUT of your works?
When the observer tells you what you SHOULD have done or how you SHOULD have said it? When the watcher imparts their own triggered responses? When the art connoisseur plays coy and uses sarcasm to critique your choice of paints, medium or image? When the photographer discredits your equipment that won you a first place honor for your work?
What would it FEEL LIKE if the opinions, criticisms, sarcasms and judgments of others rolled off of you like oil on water?
That is freedom!
My personal choice of expression has always been writing. Grafting the beauty of my own sensual experiences in life and wrapping them in beautiful packages for others to enjoy. This could be sharing the fantastical imagery of an experience itself or the challenges and hardships surrounding a situation. It could be growth or it could be falling. I might use flowering word choices to access the intended lesson or I might select vulnerable descriptions that get to the core of the experience.
For those who read my works, they will discover a message deep within themselves. A message that opens up a portal to their own soul. Sometimes, this message triggers their own wounds; wounds so deep within they are shaken into emotions of anger, resentment and envy directed at me as the writer.
These are integral components when it comes to healing. Healing is MESSY! It’s being triggered and angry. Its anxiety and pain and suffering. It’s perpetuating or creating energies of negative toward the individual who makes us feel this way.
It’s feelings of judgment towards the artist!
The expressive master.
I HATE this song! He is a horrible musician.
I cannot believe she wrote that!
He must be a psychopath…did you see his video?
They don’t know what they are doing! Look at how they live!
Who the hell does she think she is? She’s just playing Barbie…wait until she has to face ‘reality’.
I wouldn’t never paint with that brand of paint. She’s going to be disappointed and lose so much money.
This list of criticism and judgments is never ending. It is a clear marker of deep wounds for the speaker; the judgmental one.
In writing, poetry, music, dance, painting, gardening and all forms of expression, the beauty of healing is clearly evident when someone reads your perspective, your take on a situation, your experience…and takes from it something to challenge you back or criticize.
How BEAUTIFUL IS IT when YOUR ART of EXPRESSION can draw out the poison in the soul of another, bringing to surface THEIR OWN insecurities, emotional challenges and deep struggles?
It is PURE POWER! Seeing the word draw out the toxicity of the planet so that we can all heal IS PART OF FREEDOM, but it’s also part of healing PachaMama!!!!
Think about it! Let’s say someone loans you their easel, a blank canvas and their paints and asks you to paint for them. You have never painted before, but you manage to find your OWN unique flow. The power and energy of each stroke pulses through YOUR brush onto YOUR canvas. You become ONE with the experience.
It is YOU. YOU are it.
The art is yours. It becomes you. The paint, the borrowed brushes and every active stroke you take…It is your experience. Your painting!
Never allow someone’s criticism of your expression to demean or detract from what you experienced, as this is the personal freedom about which I write.
To be free of the soul, we must ALL come to a point where we understand that all life is connected. All things organic, from the ocean’s deepest life forms to the trees in the forest. From the ice caps to the fire ant. If it’s made from human hands or from the ingredients of the earth, it is us and we are it.
It is OURS, not by rights of ownership but by energy of its greeting; its connection.
It is within this matrix of energy, ALL people are part of us, and we are part of them. Past, present and future. This doesn’t mean we must EMBRACE all people, for the momentary connection to them is only there to teach us a valuable lesson of what WE DON’T WANT OR NEED TO BE LIKE. A reminder that others are on their unique journey of healing and lessons.
These folks are more like bumper pads to keep us centered.
Some people are judgmental and sarcastic. Some are entitled and prideful. Some are wasteful and vain. Some are consumed by mentalism, materialism and spending. Some speak criticism about those who have MORE than them….who are intelligent, fit, naturally beautiful, strong, powerful, successful and free. Those folks are here to guide us or navigate us through this matrix of energy to show us WHERE we don’t want to be so that we can arrive at our destination.
They are the shadow work and shadow expression in human form.
Once we realize this, their sarcasm and negative energy cannot hurt us. We see them not as expressions of HOW WE SHOULD BE in our LIFE AND LOVE, but as WARNING LIGHTS of what the dark and unhealed side of the soul looks like.
We may label them or hear repeated stories about them and their patterns of destruction, maltreatment and entitlement but these are simply signs of direction! These collective flags are the same as the ONE BOLD NEON SIGN spelling out
WARNING! HARDHAT AREA. PROTECTION REQUIRED!
Awareness is the key to safety, security and survival.
Being aware of the unhealed is part of the journey to being free. The journey to personal freedom. The unhealed can hurt you ONLY if you give them the power. If you allow them a voice in your expression, you hand YOUR POWER over to them and they can hurt you by their opinions, judgments and criticisms.
So…what means of personal freedom do you practice?
Reflect upon the criticisms you hear or the suggestions made by others that you face in light of your expressions. Look and listen to what others do or say in response to your unique expressions. If it causes them negative energies and responses, your power to heal is clearly evident.
Look at how you FEEL when they judge your works. Are you upset? Do you get angry and fight them? Do you change how you do things to adapt to their judgment?
If you hold no concern for their opinions and are grounded deeply within your intentions and integrity of the expressive works you do, refusing to change your art for them, you are not only in your power……YOU ARE TRULY FREE!
Two Tribes Primal Wellness for Men and Women 