In the past, I thought true freedom meant being able to live and travel wherever I wanted. To be able to have total time freedom, work less, and only do the type of work that I wanted to do. I thought true freedom meant having enough money in my bank account so I didn’t have to think about it, and escaping the 9-5 to do a more creative, inspiring, glamorous or impactful career.
Now I know that true freedom has nothing to do with any of that.
The thing is, once you get enough of what you want, you realize that no matter there will always be ups and downs, unknowns, challenges and uncertainties. And unless you have the capacity to hold those things, face them with grace, and let them pass through you, you will always be uncomfortable inside. And that discomfort will make you try to look outside for more answers that will ultimately not fix the problem.
That’s why we always seem to be striving for the next milestone, achievement, award, and possession.
Does that mean you can’t progress in the material world while striving for true freedom? No, I actually believe it’s the opposite - when you fully engage with life as a medium for inner liberation, it will surprise you with experiences greater than you could ever imagine. Spiritual progression is actually a catalyst for physical manifestations.
But in order for that to happen, you have to prioritize your inner freedom first. It means that instead of seeing the problems in your life as problems, you see them as an opportunity to face that discomfort within you. The moment you make that shift, you’ll find that challenges become much easier to face, because your main goal isn’t trying to “fix” it, but rather to see where you have been blocking your energy on the inside.
When you make this your higher goal, things will start to shift. You’ll start to notice how disturbed and bothered you were by every little thing in your life, and that once you stopped how much more energy you have to give back and create. This is how the inner and outer world works together for your liberation.
Of course, the path is not an easy one. It’s changing the unconscious paradigm that many of us adopted our whole lives: that in order to be happy and free, we must make sure our outer world is perfect. But breaking down this illusion is absolutely worth it. And instead of experiencing freedom like the light at the end of a tunnel, it’ll be like sunbathing in a large, open meadow.