Hi. Thank you for taking a moment to join me here as I set down my thoughts on the subject of Mastering Freedom. Its a bit of a rant today, but I think I got where I needed to go.
Its Tuesday today. Tomorrow, or the next day, I will go to Chicago to pick up my very first car. (the car I used to drive was basically a hand me down - so I never actually bought it) Its a 1981 Mercedes Benz with a rusty yellow body, a little 4 litre diesel engine that sputters when you turn her off, and many, many miles to go. Part of the reason that I bought this car is because I like Mercedes and I've wanted to drive one for some time.
Most of the reason that I bought this car is because the moment I saw it, I knew I wanted it. That's American Freedom.
But I'd also like to contribute to the freedom of others. And so, as soon as I can, and as often as I can, I will run this car on waste vegetable oil, leaving nothing in my wake but a little steam and the faint smell of McDonalds.
I mentioned in my last post that in 2001, I became distinctly aware of American Freedom. That to protect our freedom, it was necessary to invade countries in the Middle East, to vanquish Evil Doers, to secure pipelines of crude oil for multi national companies that assist in continuing our wasteful dependent lifestyle through our ever increasing capacity for consumption. Maybe what the U.S. did was right. Maybe because our country went to war in Iraq our American Freedom was secured. My opinion about that is irrelevant, because I didn't fight in the war, and I didn't vote to go to war, and we could never know what would have happened otherwise. Like everyone else, I just paid for it a little bit.
But, in 2002, I stood in Washington Square Park several days in a row, participating in New York City's Silent Protest of the invasion of Iraq. I stood quietly with friends amongst many people I didn't know who all believed that peace is more important than oil, or WMD's or corporate interests. In fact, on February 15th, 2003 I participated in the largest peaceful protest in recorded history, and the people of the world stood together numbering by some counts as 10 million strong to firmly show that war is NOT the answer. Some even believe the number was closer to 60 million!
Though this protest did not change the outcome of the actions of the United States government, at least it helped many of us to feel better about the fact that our leaders were conducting a war we didn't believe in. There have been many forms of protest that resulted in the greater good, and brought forth the challenge for society to adapt to a new paradigm. People like Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, the women's suffrage movement and everyone who through out history has followed a peaceful means for change, are a testament to the importance of protest.
While I salute, congratulate and am grateful to those leaders of the past, who have brought about meaningful and transformative change in history through peaceful protest, I would like to invite you to try on a new paradigm for change.
Rather than protest, rather than fight, rather than Occupy Wall Street, or Main Street, or Sesame Street; consider what you would do if the freedom you desire were already granted to you. Consider how far you could take your dream, or the image of yourself and how much it would change your experience. Then bring that out of yourself and do it. If you think the financial industry has ruined YOUR chances to become wealthy, well brainstorm a way that YOU could make more money, and turn it in to a business so that YOU can help others make more money! If you think that Obamacare is ruining YOUR chance for a fair healthcare system, then GO to a yoga class, lower YOUR own blood pressure by changing the diet you eat. If you think that gay marriage is going to ruin our American values by ruining the institution of marriage - then sit down with YOUR spouse and work on the problems that YOU have at home and bring down the divorce rate. If you think the Congress is corrupt and is blocking the integrity of our president, then start telling YOUR unspoken truths to someone YOU care about, or listen to someone's point of view that you disagree with and see if you can give them space to be heard.
And if you think that gas is too expensive. Then buy an old diesel Mercedes and run it on waste vegetable oil.
Freedom in the 21st Century is different from the way it used to be. It is no longer just the right to protest that which we disagree with. It is the RESPONSIBILITY to embody our own freedom, to bring about change by becoming that which we desire. To CO-CREATE together our vision of a brilliant future. Become a leader. Not of a protest movement or organization that you believe in. Become THE leader of YOUR future.
And share. Share it with me, or your bestie or a blank computer screen. Make it real. And make it NOW.
Today, I am happy to be leading my own cause to affordably get from place to place without contributing to pollution, or multi national oil conglomerates, or wars. (We get most of our oil from Canada anyway - you can look it up).
So you won't find me at peace rallies, or Save the Whales or fighting Big Brother. I'll be filtering little chunks of Freedom Fries out of my free waste oil, thinking about how good it is to have another moment to express true Freedom with all I am and all that I do.
You know what they say about the best things in life...
Abaddham!
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