Freedom’s Travails, Freedom’s Triumph
This month we celebrated the 241st anniversary of the birth of our nation. Independence day celebrates the freedom gained not only from England in the late 1700s, but also the promise of freedom America is to the world, at large, ever since our nation’s birth. We know that freedom isn’t free, and the steep price that has been paid over the last nearly two and a half centuries for the cause of freedom has been through much travail and sacrifice.
In our day, the struggle for freedom continues – not only for our political freedom as a nation in a world full of commotion – but for personal freedom as individuals and families. However, the great threat to freedom often lies within.
As a therapist at Roubicek and Thacker, I see great courage in the lives of clients struggling for freedom and independence. Whether it is someone striving for freedom from addiction to pornography, gambling, or food or a person seeking freedom from the trauma of childhood abuse, an upbringing in an alcoholic family, or the battle with a mental illness – I find their daily efforts fighting for freedom requires as much courage and personal fortitude as those brave men and women who’ve historically battled for our nation’s liberty.
The human soul strives to be free. We want to be the master of our course in life. Yes, that yearning to be free must fit within the context of important relationships in our lives such as family, friends, and community, but those systemic relations ought to enhance our personal freedom rather than stifle it. We each have been given a great gift – the ability to choose for ourselves. Like Thoreau, we each seek to “live deliberately” plotting out a course in our personal “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” that Jefferson so eloquently articulated in the Declaration of Independence. Our efforts, as therapists, are to aid you in your quest for both liberty and happiness in your personal and family lives.
Each person who gains mastery over a mental illness through the use of coping skills learned in our offices is another step forward in the pursuit of liberty. Each client that we see overcome an addiction, or find ways to live harmoniously with a spouse and other family members is a freedom fighter planting a flag of triumph in their lives after the hard-fought battle has been won. We applaud your success as you choose personal freedom from those addictions and challenges in your lives. We know the way is laced with great difficulty and the price you pay for this type of freedom is steep, but after the travail for freedom comes the triumph of your own independent liberty. And that is also a freedom worth celebrating.