Freedom . And . Life.

A Deep Practice Report on Spiritual, Karmic, Emotional, and Psychological Freedom

 

The heart of the practice

Freedom . And . Life.

At first these seem like two separate ideas.

There is Freedom.

There is Life.

And between them is:

And.

But the deeper practice may reveal that freedom is not somewhere outside life.

Freedom is discovered within life.

Not after the problems have disappeared.

Not after everyone understands us.

Not after the body becomes comfortable.

Not after uncertainty has ended.

Not after fear is gone.

But here.

Freedom . And . Life.

Life can be difficult. – And there can be freedom.

Life can be beautiful. – And there can be freedom.

Someone can love us. – And there can be freedom.

Someone can reject us. – And there can be freedom.

The body can be comfortable. – And there can be freedom.

The body can hurt. – And there can still be some degree of inner freedom.

This is perhaps the most important distinction in this entire report:

Freedom does not necessarily mean freedom from what is happening.
Freedom can mean freedom in how we meet what is happening.

That distinction connects remarkably well with Buddhism, Christian spirituality, existential psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Self-Determination Theory, mindfulness, and equanimity research.

1. What Is Freedom?

At its simplest:

Freedom is the capacity to respond rather than merely react.

But mature freedom goes further.

Freedom is the capacity:

• to see,
• to feel,
• to pause,
• to choose,
• to create,
• to love,
• to decline,
• to remain,
• to leave,
• to forgive,
• to establish a boundary,
• to begin again,
• and sometimes simply to allow something to be as it is.

Freedom is therefore not merely a political or physical condition.

There is also an inner freedom.

A person may have enormous external freedom and nevertheless be controlled internally by:

• fear,
• resentment,
• craving,
• approval-seeking,
• shame,
• habit,
• anger,
• compulsive thought,
• old conditioning,
• the need to be right,
• or the need for another person to change.

Conversely, people sometimes discover remarkable inner freedom even when circumstances are severely constrained.

Viktor Frankl’s approach to psychotherapy makes this distinction central. Logotherapy describes freedom as the capacity to shape one’s life within the possibilities actually available, rather than imagining that human beings possess unlimited control. It also emphasizes attitudinal freedom: when circumstances cannot be changed, our relationship to those circumstances may still contain some degree of choice.

So:

Freedom is not omnipotence.

Freedom is:

the living space within reality where a wise response remains possible.

2. The Two Great Movements of Freedom

There are two complementary kinds of freedom.

Freedom From

Freedom from:

• compulsive fear,
• hatred,
• resentment,
• unconscious conditioning,
• excessive attachment,
• needing approval,
• needing control,
• repetitive stories,
• automatic reactions,
• shame,
• domination by another person’s behaviour.

This is liberation.

But freedom does not end there.

Freedom To

Freedom to:

• love,
• create,
• explore,
• speak,
• listen,
• rest,
• learn,
• forgive,
• protect oneself,
• say yes,
• say no,
• change direction,
• serve,
• appreciate beauty,
• experience joy,
• live according to one’s deepest values.

This second movement is crucial.

Freedom is not merely escaping imprisonment.

It is discovering:

Now that the door is open, how shall I live?

That is where freedom becomes creative.

3. Spiritual Freedom

Across spiritual traditions, freedom usually means something deeper than getting what the personality wants.

It means becoming less enslaved to whatever prevents the heart and mind from living wisely.

In Buddhism

The Buddha’s project is explicitly described as liberation from suffering. Desire, aversion, and ignorance become deeply conditioned patterns, and practice gradually loosens their control.

This means spiritual freedom is not:

“Nothing unpleasant will happen.”

It is closer to:

“The unpleasant no longer completely possesses the mind.”

Anger may arise without becoming hatred.

Fear may arise without deciding everything.

Pleasure may arise without desperately grasping it.

Loss may arise without destroying our capacity to love.

The research literature on Buddhist equanimity makes a similar distinction: equanimity is an increasingly even-minded relationship toward pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral experience—not indifference and not suppression.

One could therefore describe Buddhist freedom as:

experiencing life without being continually pushed and pulled by attraction and aversion.

Freedom does not eliminate preference

You can prefer kindness to cruelty.

Health to sickness.

Reconciliation to conflict.

Comfort to pain.

But the mind becomes progressively less imprisoned by:

“This absolutely must happen.”

or

“This absolutely must not be happening.”

That is an enormous freedom.

4. Christian Spiritual Freedom

There is a closely related but differently expressed understanding within Christianity.

In Galatians, Christian freedom is explicitly connected with love. Paul warns that freedom is not simply permission to indulge every impulse; it becomes freedom for loving relationship and service.

That creates a beautiful spiritual formula:

Freedom → Love → Wise Action.

Freedom is not:

“I can do whatever I want.”

It becomes:

“I am increasingly free to love.”

Free to forgive without pretending something was acceptable.

Free to help without controlling.

Free to give without demanding repayment.

Free to say no without hatred.

Free to say yes without fear.

Free to love another person without possessing that person.

Free to let another human being have a path of their own.

This is mature freedom.

Love without imprisonment.

5. Freedom and Karma

Karma is sometimes misunderstood as cosmic punishment or rigid destiny.

In early Buddhist teaching, however, intention is central to karma. The Buddha famously defines karma in terms of intentional action—what we intentionally do through body, speech, and mind.

That makes karma intimately connected with freedom.

Consider what happens in one difficult moment:

An event occurs.

An old conditioning arises.

Anger appears.

An impulse appears.

And then perhaps awareness appears.

Within that awareness another possibility becomes available.

You can:

attack,

withdraw,

ruminate,

or pause.

You might say:

There is anger.

And then:

Freedom . And . Anger.

That pause may be tiny.

But karmically it is profound.

Because instead of unconsciously repeating the old pattern, a different intention can be planted.

That is one way karma and freedom meet:

The past conditions this moment.
It does not necessarily have to dictate the next moment.

Karma is not fatalism

This is important.

Early Buddhist texts explicitly reject the idea that everything a person experiences is simply caused by previous karma. The Sīvaka Sutta gives multiple causes for human experiences and rejects the claim that every pleasant or painful event is merely the result of past deeds.

So karmic freedom does not mean blaming yourself:

“I created every painful thing that happened to me.”

That would be an oversimplification of the teaching.

A more helpful understanding is:

Whatever brought this moment into existence, how I intentionally meet this moment helps condition what comes next.

This is extraordinarily hopeful.

6. Psychological Freedom

Modern psychology has a concept very close to this:

Psychological flexibility

Psychological flexibility is the capacity to remain in contact with present experience—including uncomfortable thoughts and feelings—while choosing behaviour that serves important values.

This is almost a scientific formulation of inner freedom.

Psychological imprisonment looks like:

Fear → therefore I cannot.

Anger → therefore I attack.

Sadness → therefore something is wrong with me.

Thought → therefore it must be true.

Psychological flexibility introduces space:

There is fear.
And I may still choose.

There is anger.
And I may still choose.

There is sadness.
And I may still love.

There is a frightening thought.
And it is a thought, not necessarily a command.

Research on ACT describes six major capacities supporting this freedom:

1. acceptance,
2. stepping back from thoughts rather than automatically believing them,
3. present-moment awareness,
4. a witnessing perspective,
5. knowing one’s values,
6. taking committed action consistent with those values.

That makes psychological freedom beautifully practical.

Freedom becomes:

Awareness + willingness + choice + values + action.

7. Emotional Freedom

Emotional freedom does not mean:

“I no longer have difficult emotions.”

That would often become emotional avoidance.

Real emotional freedom is:

I am allowed to have the emotion without requiring the emotion to become my master.

Fear can be here.

Anger can be here.

Grief can be here.

Jealousy can be here.

Loneliness can be here.

And:

I remain larger than this one passing state.

Research supports this distinction. Habitually accepting thoughts and feelings without judging them has been associated with reduced negative emotional responses to stress and better psychological health. Acceptance also appears related to less rumination.

Suppression is different.

Suppression says:

“Do not feel this.”

Freedom says:

“This can be felt without determining everything I do next.”

That is why a phrase such as:

Freedom . And . Fear.

can be more psychologically sophisticated than:

Freedom from Fear.

“Freedom from fear” can unintentionally establish fear as an enemy that must disappear.

But:

Freedom . And . Fear.

allows both realities.

There is fear.

And there is freedom.

Neither has to eliminate the other.

8. Autonomy: The Freedom to Be the Author of One’s Actions

Self-Determination Theory gives us another important understanding.

Human beings appear to flourish when three fundamental psychological needs are supported:

• autonomy — experiencing one’s actions as genuinely chosen,
• competence — experiencing the ability to act effectively,
• relatedness — feeling meaningfully connected with others.

Autonomy does not mean isolation.

It does not mean:

“I don’t need anybody.”

It means:

“My actions increasingly come from something I inwardly endorse.”

I can cooperate freely.

I can love freely.

I can receive help freely.

I can change my mind freely.

I can belong without surrendering myself.

Research in Self-Determination Theory repeatedly connects autonomy-supportive environments and autonomous motivation with stronger motivation, functioning, and well-being.

So one of the great gifts of freedom is:

authorship.

Not authorship of everything that happens.

But authorship of:

How shall I participate in what is happening?

9. The Thrill of Freedom

There can be something almost exhilarating about genuine freedom.

Why?

Because suddenly:

There is more than one possible future.

The mind may have said:

“I have to react this way.”

Then awareness appears.

And something opens.

Perhaps:

I don’t have to.

That moment can feel enormous.

A door opens.

A path appears where previously there seemed to be a wall.

Freedom introduces possibility.

And possibility awakens creativity.

You can ask:

What would happen if I did this differently?

What response would represent Love?

What would wisdom choose?

What haven’t I tried?

What would kindness look like here?

What is mine to do?

What can I let go?

What can I create?

Life becomes less like a predetermined script and more like an unfolding participation.

That is part of freedom’s thrill.

10. Freedom Is Creative

Freedom means we can create.

Not creation out of nothing.

Creation out of possibility.

You can create:

a sentence,

a prayer,

a garden,

a website,

a friendship,

a boundary,

a reconciliation,

a morning ritual,

an act of generosity,

a new understanding,

a new response to an old wound.

This is profoundly important.

The past may give us our starting material.

But consciousness can sometimes rearrange that material into something new.

Pain can become compassion.

Failure can become learning.

Grief can deepen appreciation.

Anger can become a boundary.

Fear can become careful courage.

Loneliness can become an opening toward relationship.

Not automatically.

Not romantically.

But sometimes.

That is creative freedom.

11. Freedom Requires Responsibility

Freedom has a shadow if separated from wisdom.

“I am free” can become:

“I owe nobody anything.”

That is not mature freedom.

Every choice occurs within relationship and consequence.

Frankl’s tradition therefore connects freedom strongly with responsibility. Freedom concerns what we do with the possibilities available to us, not merely escaping constraint.

A useful spiritual equation is:

Freedom + Wisdom + Love = Responsibility.

The question becomes not merely:

Can I do this?

but:

Is this wise?

Is this loving?

What consequences might follow?

Does this honour me?

Does this unnecessarily harm someone else?

12. Freedom . And . Life.

Now the phrase itself becomes extraordinarily rich.

FREEDOM

Freedom is the wholesome source or orientation.

It evokes:

space,

possibility,

dignity,

choice,

creativity,

nonattachment,

wisdom,

autonomy.

Then comes:

AND

And is essential.

And says:

Life does not have to disappear for freedom to exist.

It is neither:

Freedom OR Life

nor:

Freedom FROM Life.

It is:

Freedom . And . Life.

“And” brings the two together without forcing either to change.

It can represent:

• inclusion,
• relationship,
• curiosity,
• openness,
• coexistence,
• equanimity,
• non-rejection.

And then:

LIFE

Life means everything.

Love.

Beauty.

People.

Birdsong.

Meals.

Illness.

Bodies.

Relationships.

Pain.

Birth.

Aging.

Conflict.

Laughter.

Uncertainty.

Death.

Beginning again.

Everything enters through the word:

Life.

So the phrase may gradually mean:

May freedom learn to live intimately with the whole of life.

13. Freedom Is Not Indifference

This deserves particular emphasis.

Equanimity research explicitly distinguishes equanimity from indifference.

Freedom does not mean:

“I don’t care.”

It means:

“I care without being completely captured.”

This gives us one of the most beautiful formulas for relationships:

Warm Heart . Open Hands.

Love remains.

Possession diminishes.

Concern remains.

Control diminishes.

Compassion remains.

Demand diminishes.

Discernment remains.

Hatred diminishes.

This is freedom in love.

14. Freedom and Love

One of life’s hardest lessons is that:

Love does not give us ownership of another human being.

We can love someone.

And they remain free.

They can misunderstand us.

Reject us.

Choose differently.

Walk another path.

Love somebody else.

Change their beliefs.

Make mistakes.

Become distant.

And we are also free.

We may:

love,

grieve,

speak,

listen,

set boundaries,

remain available,

or wisely step away.

Therefore:

Freedom . And . Love.

can mean:

May love remain love without becoming possession.

Abiding phrases

Freedom . And . Love.

Love . And . Freedom.

Warm Heart . Open Hands.

Care . Without Control.

Love . Without Demand.

I can love . And . remain free.

They are free . And . I am free.

15. Freedom and Fear

Fear frequently says:

There is no choice.

Freedom gently asks:

Is there one small choice?

You might not be able to choose whether fear arises.

But perhaps you can choose:

one slower breath,

one step,

one phone call,

one kind sentence,

one moment of waiting before reacting.

Practice:

Freedom . And . Fear.

Do not make freedom attack fear.

Imagine them resting together.

Fear may remain.

Freedom does not have to defeat it.

Instead:

Fear is allowed to be afraid.
Freedom is allowed to remain free.

Then ask:

What is the smallest wise choice available now?

16. Freedom and Anger

Anger often contains energy.

Its wisdom may say:

Something matters.

Its danger is:

Therefore attack.

Freedom separates those two.

Practice:

Freedom . And . Anger.

Then:

Anger can speak . Without hatred.

Ask:

What is anger trying to protect?

Then choose.

Speak.

Wait.

Set a boundary.

Walk away.

Forgive.

Take action.

Or do nothing yet.

The key is:

Anger provides information.
Freedom chooses the response.

17. Freedom and Grief

Grief presents a different challenge.

There may be nothing to fix.

Someone or something precious has been lost.

Freedom here cannot mean:

“Stop grieving.”

Freedom may mean:

Grief is free to grieve.

Try:

Freedom . And . Grief.

or perhaps even:

Grief . And . Freedom.

Freedom gives grief room.

Tears are free.

Love is free.

Memory is free.

Silence is free.

There is no deadline.

This is freedom as spaciousness rather than control.

18. Freedom and Relationship Conflict

When two people disagree, freedom can disappear very quickly.

The mind begins demanding:

“They must understand.”

“They must apologize.”

“They must agree.”

Freedom brings attention back to one’s own sphere.

Their response belongs to them.
My response belongs to me.

Practice:

Freedom . And . Conflict.

Then ask:

What is mine to choose?

Perhaps:

• speak truthfully,
• listen,
• clarify,
• apologize,
• decline,
• leave the conversation,
• establish a boundary,
• revisit it tomorrow,
• release the outcome.

Freedom does not require winning.

19. Freedom and Rejection

Rejection often produces:

“Something is wrong with me.”

Freedom introduces separation between another person’s choice and our entire identity.

Practice:

Freedom . And . Rejection.

Then:

They may choose . And . I remain whole.

Their path . My path.

I can care . And . release the outcome.

Another person has freedom.

And so do you.

20. Freedom and Control

This may be one of the greatest human practices.

We repeatedly confuse:

caring

with

controlling outcomes.

Try:

Freedom . And . Uncertainty.

Then ask:

What belongs to me?

and:

What does not belong to me?

Act on the first.

Release the second.

Repeat as often as necessary.

21. Freedom and Pain

Freedom and pain require great gentleness.

Never make the practice mean:

“I should transcend pain.”

The body deserves care.

Medical treatment remains appropriate.

Rest remains appropriate.

But alongside necessary care there can sometimes be:

Pain . And . Freedom.

Pain is present.

And perhaps:

the sky is also present.

sound is present.

breathing is present.

kindness is present.

awareness is present.

choice is present.

One painful sensation does not have to become the entirety of consciousness.

22. Freedom and Regret

Regret says:

I wish the past had been different.

Freedom asks:

What can this teach the present?

Practice:

Freedom . And . Regret.

Then:

The past is written .
My next response is not completely written.

Karmically this is important.

We cannot undo yesterday’s action.

We can change today’s intention.

That is the beginning of a different pattern.

23. Freedom and Forgiveness

Forgiveness is especially powerful when it is free.

Forced forgiveness is not freedom.

You do not have to pretend something did not hurt.

You do not have to reconcile with someone unsafe.

Instead:

Freedom . And . Forgiveness.

might mean:

May I eventually become free from carrying this injury every moment of my life.

Forgiveness then becomes liberation, not permission.

24. Freedom and Aging

Aging progressively demonstrates that freedom cannot depend entirely upon external capacity.

Certain options diminish.

Yet other freedoms may deepen.

Freedom to:

simplify,

appreciate,

rest,

forgive,

receive,

release old obligations,

say what matters,

love more directly,

be less impressed by social approval,

notice beauty,

be present.

Thus:

Freedom . And . Aging.

may become a particularly profound spiritual practice.

As some freedoms narrow,

another kind of freedom can deepen.

25. Freedom and Death

This is perhaps the ultimate practice.

We cannot choose permanent bodily existence.

The deepest freedom therefore eventually encounters mortality.

Practice gently:

Freedom . And . Mortality.

or:

Life . And . Death.

No demand for a particular emotional response.

No attempt to force courage.

Simply recognizing:

Life has always contained change.

Things arise.

Things remain awhile.

Things pass.

And while life is here:

there is still an opportunity to love.

26. Freedom and Joy

Freedom is not only for suffering.

This is important.

Practice:

Freedom . And . Joy.

Let joy be joy.

Do not immediately grasp it:

“Please never leave.”

Let beauty remain beautiful precisely because it is free.

Enjoy the bird.

The sunlight.

The friend.

The meal.

The quiet moment.

Freedom says:

I do not have to imprison this beautiful experience in order to love it.

This is appreciation without possession.

27. A Three-Part Freedom Abiding Practice

When something difficult arises:

1. Recognize

There is fear.

or:

There is sadness.

or:

There is anger.

No judgment.

Just recognition.

2. Introduce Freedom

Freedom.

Pause.

Feel the word rather than merely thinking it.

What does freedom feel like in the body?

Perhaps:

more space,

a softer chest,

a deeper exhalation,

less narrowing.

Do not manufacture it.

Simply invite it.

3. Bring Them Together

Freedom . And . Fear.

Freedom . And . Grief.

Freedom . And . Anger.

Let both exist.

Nothing needs to win.

Then ask:

What is the wisest freedom available now?

28. The Left Hand . Heart . Right Hand Practice

The phrase can also be embodied.

Left hand

Freedom

Let the left hand represent spaciousness, possibility, wisdom and choice.

Heart

And

Let the heart represent inclusion, relationship, kindness, curiosity and non-rejection.

Right hand

Life

Let the right hand hold whatever life is presenting.

Fear.

Love.

Pain.

Another person.

Uncertainty.

Joy.

Grief.

Then simply feel:

Freedom . And . Life.

Neither hand defeats the other.

The heart holds the relationship.

This is a beautiful physical representation of equanimity:

both belong within awareness.

29. The Ten-Second Practice

During ordinary life:

Pause.

Feel your feet or hands.

Silently say:

Freedom.

Pause.

And.

Pause.

Life.

Then ask only:

What is mine to choose now?

One breath may be enough.

30. The One-Minute Practice

For approximately one minute:

Breath 1

Freedom.

Notice spaciousness.

Breath 2

And.

Open rather than push away.

Breath 3

Life.

Include exactly what is happening.

Repeat gently.

Then finish with:

May I meet this freely and wisely.

31. A Longer Freedom Meditation

Sit comfortably.

Let breathing be natural.

Begin:

Freedom.

Do not define it.

Feel what the word evokes.

Pause.

Then:

And.

Feel inclusion.

Then:

Life.

Let today’s life enter awareness.

Body.

Thoughts.

People.

Concerns.

Beauty.

Uncertainty.

Repeat slowly:

Freedom . And . Life.

After several minutes stop repeating the words.

Simply sit.

Notice whatever appears.

Whenever the mind tightens around something:

Freedom . And . This.

Then return to silence.

32. Freedom . And . This.

Eventually the entire practice can become extremely small.

Someone speaks harshly:

Freedom . And . This.

Fear appears:

Freedom . And . This.

A beautiful morning:

Freedom . And . This.

Pain:

Freedom . And . This.

Love:

Freedom . And . This.

Uncertainty:

Freedom . And . This.

“This” prevents the mind from having to explain everything.

It simply means:

whatever life is right now.

33. Freedom Does Not Mean

It may help to remember what this practice is not.

Freedom does not mean:

• suppressing feelings,
• abandoning responsibility,
• tolerating abuse,
• denying consequences,
• refusing help,
• always getting one’s way,
• emotional detachment,
• never needing anyone,
• avoiding grief,
• pretending everything is acceptable,
• blaming ourselves for everything through karma,
• or becoming indifferent.

Freedom is not:

“Nothing matters.”

It is:

“This matters . And . I do not have to become imprisoned by it.”

34. The Paradox of Freedom

There is a beautiful paradox here.

The more desperately we insist:

“Life must obey me before I can be free,”

the more dependent our freedom becomes upon circumstances.

But when we begin saying:

“This is the life that is here. What freedom is available within it?”

a different kind of freedom emerges.

Acceptance does not destroy agency.

It can restore agency.

Research on emotional acceptance and psychological flexibility points toward exactly this relationship: willingness to experience reality can reduce the secondary struggle with experience and make values-based action more available.

Thus:

Acceptance is not the opposite of freedom.

Sometimes acceptance is the doorway through which freedom enters.

35. Freedom and Equanimity

The mature fruit of this practice may be equanimity.

Not:

“I don’t care what happens.”

But:

“Pleasant or unpleasant, I want to meet life wisely.”

Research describes equanimity as an even-minded relationship with pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral experience, involving less automatic cognitive-emotional reactivity.

That gives us:

Pleasant . And . Freedom.

Unpleasant . And . Freedom.

Uncertain . And . Freedom.

Eventually:

Life . And . Freedom.

36. Why “Freedom . And . Life.” Is So Powerful

I believe this phrase contains an unusually complete spiritual psychology.

Freedom

says:

There is possibility.

And

says:

Nothing has to be rejected.

Life

says:

Include everything.

Together:

Freedom . And . Life.

means:

I do not need to escape life in order to be free.

I do not need to control life in order to participate in it.

I do not need to stop feeling in order to choose wisely.

I do not need another person to change before I can begin releasing my struggle with them.

I am not free from consequences, but I am increasingly free to choose my intentions.

I cannot create every circumstance, but I can participate creatively in the circumstances I receive.

I cannot keep everything I love, but I can love while it is here.

I cannot prevent all suffering, but suffering need not possess the whole mind.

37. A Family of Master Freedom Phrases

These may be useful in different circumstances:

Freedom . And . Life.

Freedom . And . This.

Freedom . And . Love.

Freedom . And . Fear.

Freedom . And . Grief.

Freedom . And . Anger.

Freedom . And . Pain.

Freedom . And . Uncertainty.

Freedom . And . Change.

Freedom . And . Another Person.

Warm Heart . Open Hands.

Care . Without Control.

Love . Without Demand.

Feel . And . Choose.

Pause . And . Choose.

Nothing to force.

Let be . Let unfold.

This is here . And . I am free to respond.

38. One Question That Can Change a Life

Whenever you notice contraction, ask:

“Where is freedom here?”

Not:

“How do I get rid of this?”

Not:

“How do I make them change?”

Not:

“Why is this happening to me?”

For one moment ask:

Where is freedom here?

Sometimes the answer will be enormous:

Leave.

Speak.

Begin.

Forgive.

Create.

Sometimes very small:

Take one breath.

Do not send the email yet.

Put down the phone.

Feel your feet.

Rest.

Say no.

Say yes.

Ask for help.

Sometimes freedom may simply be:

Let this moment be exactly as it is for ten seconds.

Tiny freedoms matter.

They accumulate into a way of living.

39. The Deepest Freedom

At first we seek freedom by changing circumstances.

That is sometimes necessary and wise.

Later we discover another freedom:

freedom in relationship to circumstances.

And deeper still may come another discovery:

Freedom is not merely something we occasionally achieve.

There may be a quiet spaciousness of awareness already present beneath the grasping, resisting, judging and defending of the conditioned mind.

The spiritual path then changes.

Instead of asking only:

“How can I become free?”

we begin asking:

“What am I doing right now that obscures the freedom already available?”

Grasping?

Resisting?

Demanding?

Defending?

Controlling?

Rehearsing?

Condemning?

Then perhaps:

soften.

notice.

allow.

And once again:

Freedom . And . Life.

Not freedom somewhere else.

Not freedom tomorrow.

Not freedom when everything has finally worked out.

Freedom here.

Life here.

Together.

A Final Abiding Practice

Place one hand gently open.

Let it represent:

Freedom.

Let awareness rest at the heart:

And.

Let the other hand represent:

Life.

Feel both.

No side needs to win.

Then breathe slowly:

Freedom.

pause

And.

pause

Life.

And inwardly allow:

Life may be life.

Love may be love.

Fear may be fear.

Others may be themselves.

I may be myself.

What can be changed, I may wisely change.

What cannot be changed today, I may learn to hold more gently.

What is mine to choose, I may choose with care.

What belongs to another, I may gradually release.

May freedom deepen into wisdom.

May wisdom deepen into love.

May love keep the heart open.

And may I meet this one precious, unfinished life

freely.

Freedom . And . Life.