Indeed, it is a question of life or death. Do we accept the rejection of the world that imprisons us, or do we claim the freedom of the children of God? We must choose.
Henri Nouwen
Do you think freedom begins when we realize we have a choice?
Conditioned according to the conditional, our life is a conveyor belt; we keep doing, reaching, and agreeing because at some point we were told that success and achievement might slow the treadmill and we could breathe and possibly be hugged. With every affirmation, there is a hint of the next rejection, and somehow, no one mentioned that acceptance isn’t chased but gracefully and freely given.
It’s the trap of tunnel vision. We have stamina; we could do this forever. Until something whispers through that feeling of forever inside us, and for the first time you see a life that you want, that is yours, that glows. Suddenly the air has color, and the whisper vibrates. What did it say? Do you remember?
The funny thing about never saying no is that when you finally hear the question and want to say yes, you don’t know how. For at the moment I realized I could choose, I knew the choice was already made. The real confrontation, it seems, to claiming the way of love, is the cost, which is your life.
