Freedom Lies in Being Bold
– Robert Frost

Freedom has been on my mind this month.
My July 4th post spoke of how, as an immigrant,
I feel especially blessed to be American,
living in America, land of the free.
I am forever thankful for this privilege.

There is another freedom, however,
of which we may be unaware.
This is freedom from the tyranny
of our own negative inner voices.

Especially the voice of the critic,
the voice of the doubter and the naysayer.
These voices like to work in concert and combine
to become a loud chorus,
drowning out our dreams and aspirations.

The irony is that these voices mean well –
they mean to protect us.
But instead, they paralyze us with fear.

In 2012, after moving back to the U.S. from Beijing
where I lived for a decade,
my negative inner voices cried doom and gloom.
My critic demanded why I wasn’t doing something “productive,”
my doubter doubted I’d ever get started on writing my book
and my naysayer said it was all hopeless.
Feeling weak and vulnerable, I did, indeed, feel hopeless.
You could say I hit a low (not the only time!).

The good news is that we can learn to assuage and calm
our critical inner voices.  There are many tools,
from the whimsical to meditation,
and wise spiritual teachers who can help.
Fundamental to this process, I believe,
is the practice of self love and self compassion.

We may never be entirely free of our critical inner voices,
but they don’t need to stop us with fear.

“Freedom Lies in Being Bold”
So let us claim our freedom and march boldly onward
to pursue and to live our dream.