Finding Liberty

Have you ever been searching for something that you didn't really know you where looking for?  An intangible object you did not quite understand? You know, that feeling that something is missing or a little out of whack but not being able to put a finger on it?

It is an uneasy feeling. A feeling, possibly, of insecurity, of being over whelmed, the loss of something....... love, beauty, happiness. It feels like hitting rock bottom.

Perhaps.

Hitting rock bottom.... how do we know when we've hit it? I have often felt that things were bad in my life and couldn't get worse, and I was wrong. I hear stories of what others have gone through, the hardships, the sadness, and I feel ashamed for thinking my life as being conflicted with tragedy in comparison.
A friend shared a story with me about tragedy and I saw a rock bottom I have never come close to.
So, does everyone have their own rock bottom? Are there multiple layers of rock bottom?

A lot of us have felt bad, experienced some form of depression, suffered from some type of physical and/or emotional pain. But I think that we may have also experienced the complete opposite, because we've made, even if only momentarily, a choice. I know that I have. And I say momentarily because in a world full of hardships, we need to make the choice often, to see beyond the fog, to pull ourselves out of the muck.

One of the hardest things to find when it feels like life has swallowed you whole is strength; strength to do the right thing, strength to carry on. But I believe we all have it. Just like we may all have our own rock bottoms, we do all have our own strengths.

Love, beauty and happiness is there. It is our choice if we want to get it.

I have found and needed to remind myself, that I am or was, looking in the wrong place.

It happened to me not too long ago when I found myself inside of a miserable day, being plagued with uneasy thoughts, in a place surrounded by strangers. And I took a moment to close my eyes and breathe in, trying to relax, and when I lifted my lids, there she was, Liberty.

I was washed over with a bit of awe and amazement. It is a beautiful thing to come to realize the life that surrounds us is in fact ours. With regards to the economy and all of that other stuff that is out there, it is hard, for certain, but it is still our life. Our choices, our ability to think and act for ourselves. We don't have to be or feel confined or restricted. We don't have to give in to compulsion or coercion.

I saw my Liberty.... and regardless of the ups and downs and disappointments that life can, and probably will, still throw my way...... I know that I have the strength to hold on. And if I can do it....... maybe you can find yours as well. Maybe you already have.

Love, beauty and happiness..... and Liberty, they are all there.