A New View of Freedom
By Kathy Guisewite ~July, 2013 ~
This
is Cary. I have the honor of visiting
with her each week. As an Early Intervention Professional, I’m supposed to
offer her family encouragement and wisdom and playful suggestions as to how we can
all best support Cary’s development. And
I do this with great cheer and devotion!!
But what actually happens each week is that Cary offers me encouragement
and wisdom and playful suggestions as to how I can live fully and freely in
this life.
Cary tells
me with every visit that the best way to defeat the tyrants in the world is by
way of laughter and noisy raspberries.
She
reminds me that music is always the best medicine when you are sad or grumpy.
She
also reminds me that music is always the added joy on happy, carefree days.
Cary
says that when the battles are tough, it’s time to put on the attitude of “just
try and stop me” and press forward no matter how many times you get knocked
down.
Cary
says if you really want to make a difference in the world then be who you are
as best you can.
Cary
says the best way to evoke change for good is to be happy and help others to
find their own happiness.
When I
think of freedom and what that means to Cary, I think it means being
loved. She doesn’t seem to whine about
what she doesn’t have. She doesn’t
notice the differences in her world and mine… she just embraces what is and
loves the gifts given.
Freedom
means so much to so many, and we are all grateful to live in a nation where we
are free to pray and love and explore and grow as we feel individually
led. But Cary teaches me that freedom is
also a way of thinking and living no matter what life tosses at you. Cary helps me understand that freedom is a
gift of the heart and the spirit… bound only by the walls our small minds
erect.
As
Cary finds and loves her own freedoms, I realize that even in times of dismay…
in my own home or in the wider world… we can each add to the hopes of freedom
by living like Cary. Don’t take no for
an answer. Don’t live smaller than your
spirit. Remember that your joy is a
source of goodness in the world. And
when all else fails, seek the light, the beautiful light that fills us with
hope for each new day.
I love
you, Cary. Thanks for helping me to
remember to live free.
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