“Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and experimenting, the possibility of saying No to any authority–literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.” Ignazio Silone (Italian Novelist & Journalist, 1900-1978)
Liberty is what we celebrate here in America on the Fourth of July. It’s what we’ve had from the time we were born here on American soil. We look at the flag. We say the pledge. We speak of the men and women who have died to maintain our liberty. America – the land of the free. We embrace freedom with the same ease that we pull air into our lungs. It’s there, surrounding us. Freedom is ours. We have the liberty to make our own choices. To mess up. To get up and try again. To succeed. To question. To decide our own futures. We don’t all agree on what freedom means. But here in America, we believe freedom is our right.
Albert Einstein said “Everything that is really great or inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.”
Do you truly believe in freedom? Are you living in freedom or are you in bondage to your own doubts and fears of living free? As a young writer, I had to free myself of the fear of failure. If I wrote it and never sent it out, I would never face failure. Nor would I know success. But I had stories to tell and so I had to find the courage to embrace the freedom to tell those stories. Many years have passed since I licked those first stamps to send out that first bit of writing to try to become a published writer. I’ve had some successes. And many failures. But I have always been free to choose. Free to give up or to continue on with absolutely no guarantees that any kind of continued success would ever come my way. I always chose that freedom to keep writing. To continue to fill pages with words. Uncensored words. I wasn’t guaranteed success or publication, but I was always free to write whatever I wanted.
Freedom – put that on a writer’s list of necessities right up there with perseverance and imagination and courage. Why do I need courage? To face the blank page. To tell another story. To believe in freedom. To believe I have the freedom to follow my dream.
“Freedom is the last, best hope for earth.” (Abraham Lincoln)
May you be blessed with much freedom on this Fourth of July weekend. Thanks for reading!