Personal Meditation no. 196

“You can’t outsource freedom.”

Embrace the Within.

As I am apt to do while sitting in Catholic mass, I started thinking about freedom and the reasons folks want freedom. During my time in the Libertarian and libertarian population, I was struck by this criticism of Libertarian and libertarian ideas as being selfish. And I think there is a lot of confusion about wanting what is best for oneself and acting for selfish reasons.

Ultimately, we are all self interested. I wouldn’t be alive without being interested in taking care, providing for, and maintaining my life. I have a vested interest in my self because it is me. That does not mean that my actions are always selfish. And being selfish sometimes is a benefit to others BUT, this is a bit of the nuance I talk about often that I don’t see an understanding of around the whole of society.

I often analyze my reasons for doing things as I think we all should to truly understand why we act and think the way we do. BUT being selfish and acting selfishly can be beneficial to others and should not be written off as a purely bad thing. What is really important for me to look at in my life is the reason I am doing the things and the reasons I want to be free.

Anyone can choose freedom and use it however they please. Children often complain about the rules and wish to do things that are harmful to themselves. They want to stay up later, eat garbage foods, and not bathe because the rules are a hindrance to their good time. And I see a lot of that in Libertarian and libertarian circles, especially the hygiene component, of using their freedom for their own interests and believing that any rules are a hindrance to their freedom. BUT I have always thought my freedom should allow me to help others get free. It is not enough for me to be a lone Mance Rayder. I want everyone to be as free as they want to be. And sometimes their choice of freedom is going to harm them like those kids that want to stay up late eating Flaming Hot Doritos and drinking Monsters. BUT that isn’t my call on how they use their freedom, it is their call.

So, I constantly look at why I am doing the things I do. Am I looking to get famous? Am I looking to get rich? Am I looking out purely for myself? Am I motivated by selfishness or self interest? And I think about those things a lot when I consider my freedom. Why do you want to be free?

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin

Personal Meditation no.195

“Sometimes you need to admit you’re wrong in order to get right.”

Embrace the Within.

I didn’t see this change coming fourteen days ago. The idea that I would be over here typing away in the morning trying to put it together. I didn’t see working out and having greenhouses and reading the Bible and meal prepping for the week and drinking a gallon of water each day or prayer or generally feeling a lot better about where I am in body and in mind and in spirit.

I didn’t see this happening. I was spending an awful lot of time just trying to be prepared for the next crisis that the world lets befall it. I think I just got so tired of the lies and the fear and the games and the sheer stupidity of society. And there was God just waiting for me to come back to what makes sense. And that path went through Stoicism and through Voluntaryism and through Libertarianism and property rights and personal responsibility and smacked me right into Christianity again.

Not what I had planned. Not what I saw happening. Not the path I had planned for myself. BUT none of that matters. The journey of life is an amazing process when you allow the process to be amazing. I fought hard against a lot over the years. I see a lot of problems with some beliefs of some churches. I see a lot of problems with how some folks interpret being Christian. I see a lot of problems that have nothing to do with what the Bible says. I see a lot of problems that are from a misunderstanding. I see a lot of problems that are from folks putting their own spin on things. I see a lot of problems from folks trying to adapt eternal concepts to their temporal society. And that is where the fallibility part, the human part, the problematic part rolls into church and life. When I or you or we start to force God’s words to fit our lives. What I should be doing, what you should be doing is starting to force our lives to fit God’s words. It works out a lot better that way. It turns out much happier, more joyful, and abundantly great. And that is where I had to admit I was wrong. I never had a problem with God’s words. I never had a problem with what the Bible said. I never had a problem with the journey. I always had a problem with the human part. Sometimes, most times, the problem was mine. I needed to understand when what I was hearing was bullshit. I need to understand that what I was seeing was bullshit. And I needed to not argue the bullshit BUT rebuke it and move on the right way.

I think a lot of us get caught up in the mistakes of others and then blame God for those mistakes. BUT we make the same mistakes as well and those mistakes are not on God, those mistakes are always on us. Own your choices, own your life. My body, my choice, Your beliefs are your actions. What you say is just what you think. Only you can bring yourself peace. I chose to make those choices. I chose to admit that I was wrong and move forward with getting right. And all it takes is the chance I get every day, the chance you get every day, the chance to change our entire lives with one choice. BUT we all get to choose either way every day.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin