Freedom

Today is Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day. As I was looking through cards on Thursday that were addressed to the Danish people (they helped save thousands of Jews), a certain quote struck me. The quote, said by Carrie Jones, is "The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage". I wasn't sure why this quote meant so much to me. I easily put it in to context for the Holocaust. But then I realized that it meant something, because it is true. Completely. It is something that has been said to me countless times by treatment professionals and friends. It relates to addiction and eating disorders and well life.

In terms of eating disorders, it is said that you cannot be truly happy while having it and that even though it is scary... you must let go to be free. Which takes immense courage. So, each time you have the courage and strength to not act on a behavior, you are a step closer to freedom, making you a step closer to happiness. I know that sounds super simple. But in the end, it is. We won't be happy till we are free, but being scared keeps us form being free. What if the Danes had decided it was too risky to save the Jews? Thousands more people would have died. They helped others gain their freedom and brought themselves happiness. That is so courageous..I am actually speechless while thinking about it.

Today I read the entire book, "Tuesdays with Morrie". If any of you have read it, then you understand that it was the perfect day to read this book. In it Morrie says that until you learn to die, you cannot learn to live. Part of me wonders if the Danish people saw death approaching and knew they had to take the leap so they could feel alive. Did the people in the concentration camps finally see what life meant when it was taken from them? How come with eating disorders, this isn't necessarily true? I know people who have actually stared death in the face and still chose to not live fully out of fear.

This thought confused me all day until now. Morrie didn't mean that you had to almost die to learn to live. He meant that you had to accept morality and live life knowing you could die anytime, so you might as well live. He was trying to show how fragile life is, even when you seem to be perfectly healthy. Morrie was dying, but he felt free. He was determined to live even if only mentally. Nothing weighed him down, he accepted feelings but let them leave. He was free from his diagnosis until his final breath.

Freedom is being at peace with what life is, a series of unfortunate events, with good things tossed in and a series of incredible events with bad things tossed in. Either way without courage and acceptance...you will not be free.

What does freedom mean to you?

Stay Strong
xo Aria