Freedom
My ninety year-old Oma poured her heart out to me today. She may not have always been the best mother, sister, or friend but I believe her spirit is pure. She cried to me in concern for her children. I imagine this is something all mothers do. She told me the story of how she and her late husband, Frank, fell in love. She chuckled that she loved him most for his frank qualities. He was an honest man and always told the truth. I imagine this is how he loved her for so long.
Then she began to tell her favorite story, of how different she was from the rest of the children growing up. Usually when she tells these stories she speaks light heartedly of how she’d share stories or speak in German for the other schoolchildren. Only this time her stories felt more honest. She described how she struggled to fit in as a child. How she had always felt different from everybody else. She says in Poland she was taught to pretend to be German to protect her family’s freedom; their right to live. When her family immigrated she had to pretend to understand what it meant to be American. She didn’t just have learn a new language and culture, but to accept the freedoms that come with being American. To have the freedom of speech, religion and freewill. To express emotions openly. These she says were the things that made her life difficult and that made her feel so different from everybody else.
There is a famous quote that says with great freedom also comes responsibility. I believe this to be true. Especially if you can see that freedom is something inside of you, a way you choose to be. If accepted, it can empower you to make choices that are congruent with your beliefs and values. It invites you to embrace your most difficult and self-defeating thoughts. Freedom allows you to dream big, yet to live for each moment of the day. None of these are easy things for to do and I can see how difficult it must have been for my Oma.
The conversation I had with my Oma today is one of many that I will remember for a lifetime. We cried. We laughed. We listened and heard one another. While she may not have made life easy for her loved ones her spirit is genuine. I am thankful that she survived her upbringing so that she could give birth to the child that would become the strongest most patient and resilient woman that I am happy to call my Mother.
I challenge you to see that freedom is not something that is given to you by someone or something. Rather, it is a choice you make. Everyday. Great things grow from people who choose to live free. I am eternally grateful for that.
