In a world where everything cost a lot more than it did this time last year, one must ask: What is still free? Is anything really free? I read an article recently, titled: Feeling Free and Joyful. Do you need freedom to feel joy? Can one have joy without freedom? What exactly is freedom and does this term mean something different for everyone? I think the current times we are living in has forced many of us to note how important it is to live intentional lives. Nothing, and I mean nothing is promised or guaranteed.

I’ve written recently in a post titled, Inflated, about being more mindful of where I drive and where I shop. I try my best to run errands in the same vicinity to save on the cost of gas.

Aside from increased prices for food, gas and other necessary items, I must share with you dear reader, I feel a certain level of freedom. I am at peace with certain life decisions. I am not sure if my overall positive disposition may be attributed to the season (summer is my time to shine, literally). I love waking up to sunshine streaming through my window. I especially love going to work and being able to actually see outdoors. I love it even more when my work day is over and I can take my toddler to the park to kick around the soccer ball. It’s still very light outdoors as children run, jump, hop and play on grassy fields and dart in and out of the waterscape.

It is during this time I feel free. With all the uncertainties that engulfs us on the daily, nothing brings me more joy than to watch my child as well as other children enjoying the pleasures of life. Sunshine, water play, and ice cream after a full day of work and school is liberating. It is during these times (and other times) I talk to God, I thank him for my current state of mental clarity and I continually ask for grace. I pray that I will continually find the beauty within the everyday, especially when mornings stay dark and the end of the work day is filled with darkness. The challenge will still be to find that level of inner peace and overall freedom when the sunshine is no longer streaming through the windows, when the cold chill of the New England air burrows deep within one’s bones and layers upon layers of clothing and clunky boots are the only way to dress.

What about you dear reader? When do you feel the most free? I am looking forward to reading your public and private responses. Blessings.