Freedom Blaze - Dreaming, Acting and Living on Your Terms - by: Terry Christopher

Terry Christopher - Album Cover from Journey of a Wordsmith (2006)

Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow.  

Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros

This process of our journey can sometimes be a complex set of issues of various levels that we are navigating throughout our growth evolution. When dealing with hurdles, obstacles and other things that come our way, we often end up dealing with each process twice. First we deal with how we feel.  What is right for us.  Then in many cases, we are also end up dealing with how others want us to deal with things - often because other people are probably looking out for themselves or their own self interest first  (which is an entirely different topic for another time). This article is about each of us embracing our own Freedom Blaze.

In some ways, each of us has negotiated in many of the relationships we have in our multi-faceted lives of work, family and friends to NOT represent ourselves fully. We compromise. While compromise is good at times, it can be a bigger part of who we become and through all that we compromise we can sometimes find ourselves compromised right out of the control of our own path. How do we get to that point? It’s easy, because compromise makes everything easy.

What is easy isn’t always what is best. The problem with too much compromise is that you find you soften like the rocks in a rushing river, worn down over time. Life comes at us at all levels and various speeds and degrees of emotional depths. If we don’t make a practice of identifying our own desires, our own passions, and pursue our own dreams and thus stand up for them, we are only living in the shadow of this life experience; the shadows of others doing, being, creating. Live within your Freedom Blaze. Live within the person you are and own the steps in the direction to a life fulfilled and exhausted in the pursuit of all that is exciting, powerful and redeeming of your own sense of self and power.

Know that you have a right to set the boundaries in your life. If they are misunderstood or bristle against the comforts and good fortunes that others find by associating with you, those people will either reconstruct their association with you or simply fall away while dying on the vine. Life is too short to compromise ones sense of self, ones happiness and ones ability to live a true and authentic life. Live in your Freedom Blaze.

Dream. Reach. Live. Do.

Terry Christopher

Ro's notes:

Terry's article really hit home with me, as I used to compromise to the point of losing control of my own life!   In our day to day lives, we are often called upon to compromise - we get so used to compromising and pleasing everyone else all of the time, we begin to lose sight of our dreams before we even realize what is happening.  When you find this happening to you, take a step back, identify your passions and desires, understand that you have the right to pursue your dreams, and to stand up for them just like everybody else.  Being a kind and compassionate human being does not require you to live in anybody else shadow! 

Now go out and live your extraordinary life.  As Terry so aptly puts it, live within your Freedom Blaze, knowing that I want you to be happy and that I love you too! -  Ro.

Terry Christopher

Terry, a regular guest blogger for Rousing Rowena, is a New York based, award winning singer-songwriter.  I always look forward to Terry's contributions to Rousing Rowena.  For more information about Terry and his music - which I recommend by the way - please click on Terry Christopher.