Dear quarter lives,

There are people in this world who express themselves well, and there are people in this world who wish to express themselves well. Then there are others who think they express themselves well; it is those that require the most work. It is those that are most resistant to work on themselves, because they already think they are there. One should never stop working on themselves. That does not mean that one is never good enough. It simply means that there is always further to go and higher to grow. It means that our expansion is limitless. It means that if we wanted, we could grow forever. It means that if we wanted we could be as big or as small as we liked. It means that growth is not an automated process as it might appear when we observe our physical growth from child to adult. It means that growth is a choice. It means that growth happens only when and if we will it. And it means, too, that we are free to will whatever and whenever we like.

You see, to be free to express oneself is not about the ability to say one’s opinions eloquently or share many words or even articulate what you think is yourself. To be free to express oneself means to recognise one’s freedom of will in choosing this life, in choosing to grow or to stop growing. We always have the freedom to choose, but we don’t always recognise we have it. And it is the recognition of our own freedom that frees us from our own limiting beliefs. It is not the “big bad corporations” that shackle us, it is our own selves that hold us back, because they are scared, and understandably so, for the weight of responsibility is not an easy one to carry. It is much easier to throw the responsibility of one’s life over onto someone else — often it is a parent and often too it is a government. You see, to be free to exercise our own will means we must recognise we have will, and to recognise we have will means taking responsibility for all of our life — the whole thing without exceptions. And it is the weight of that responsibility for ourselves that scares us away from our own freedom. It is the fear that if we are accountable for all of it, then we cannot blame others anymore, we cannot point fingers at an-Other, we cannot say anymore They are the reason my life is this way or that. And when we begin to turn this disappointment, anger and resentment inward, there is always fear when we realise that it is not others we have disliked, it is ourselves. And unlike other people, we cannot get away from ourselves so instead of facing ourselves, many who cannot endure the confrontation with Self try to escape from seeing themselves for who they really are and project themselves instead onto the outside world. But there is no running away, because YOU are everywhere.

The universe has gifted us this year with time, time to reflect, time to reconsider our choices, time to recognise our freedom to express our will. We have been blessed to collectively be going through something together. Community in hardship can sometimes be sweeter than community in celebration. There is community all around you, but you must choose it, you must want to be a part of it. Wait not for it to come to pick you. Do not give away your power to something else to come find you. Reclaim your power from all those you have handed it over to. It is never someone else that takes away our power, it is us who choose to give it away and it is always only us who can return it back to ourselves. You free yourself when you choose to see yourself. You can only see yourself when you are ready to take responsibility and own every part of it. You are not a product of someone else’s choices, you are a product of your own choices. Only when you can see that will you be free to express your truth and make choices that are in alignment with that truth.

Always for peace, 

S.A.