Freedom to Be

"I have tried many different ways to manage my mental health, from prescriptions to spirituality to art, and in the end, the only thing I have found that truly and sustainably works, is to allow myself the freedom to be myself in the world." - Danielle Rondeau, Lawyer & Author

Many years ago, when I first became an author, I connected many of my publisher's other authors.  Danielle Rondeau was one.  She had also recently published her first book called I Am Enough. Although it was about her journey as a lawyer, I found so much wisdom in it that applied to me. however, the title itself had the most impact.  In hard times, "I Am Enough" serves as a mantra to repeat.

Our lives have diverged wildly, to the point our only connect is following each other's posts on social media, but I still love reading her posts.  She is thoughtful and insightful, and her journey filled with twists and turns always feels guided.  I can't remember where or when she posted the quote at the top, but it hit me. This is just an excerpt from a longer post she made, but I tried to share the most important sound byte. 

Freedom to be - just repeating those words gives me goosebumps.  I grew up in a box, with set expectations of the person I was to become.  Unfortunately what they wanted of me wasn't possible. It was now who I was born to be, and would not help me find and serve my purpose.  As a child I didn't understand.  I just knew I didn't fit in, and felt I was broken or was missing an ingredient. 

It would be decades before I finally woke up and began to understand how important the freedom to be yourself was.  It holds the key to self-acceptance, inner peace, your ability to show up for others, and to be a positive force of change.  For me this understanding came when I was doing tons of interviewing.  Hearing hundreds of unique stories, lives that unfolded different than mine, beliefs that challenged my own, and definitions of success that defied social expectations. What I heard was truly life changing. 

There are so many paths that can lead one to this truth. Interviewing not possible or interesting? Then reading a widely diverse selection of memoirs can offer the same. I backed away from live interviewing in 2020, and have filled that void by reading widely.  These memoirs have had the same impact on me.  They continue to expand my understanding of the diversity that surrounds me. Accepting the importance of that diversity in others have given me the permission to accept it in myself..

I love how important truths seem to spread through the ether.  One person mentions an idea, then it pops up in another's post, then I walk into a room to find it a topic of conversation, and next a new book draws my attention that expands on the idea.  When the universe drops pebble after pebble in my pond circling the same idea, I know it's time to pay attention. 

So why did this post/quote catch my attention today.  I regularly let my self-confidence slip, and when I do that, I begin to get swayed by the opinions of others.  Next I start to limit myself, and quiet my voice. I have come to hate drama. Today I am reminded to stand tall, to fully embrace my freedom to be, and to move through the world loudly and proudly.  The reward? Each day I succeed in walking this way, my passion and my purpose flow through me joyfully.