FREE to be Me ...

Friday, October 22, 2010

Setting our own Boundaries

The last few weeks I have heard a lot about "Freedoms" and "Rights" as they relate to our government. I tend to have pretty strong political opinions sometimes.... so instead of thinking along those lines I tried to reflect about the concept of Freedom in general - The kind of personal freedom we experience every day. What came to my mind was the incredible amount of independence, free-will, and choice we have in our individual lives. We have the ultimate prerogative over everything we do. That made me wonder, what am I doing with all that freedom?

When I woke up this morning my mind was on a slightly different tangent. Not on freedom, but on the necessity of limiting freedoms. I began thinking... People with so many freedoms, so FREE to do as they please, will inevitably choose poorly sometimes. Because we are human and are prone to have weakness, absolute freedom guarantees a lot of people making a lot of crazy choices. Whatever motive that pushes a person at any given time (indulgence, laziness, lack of understanding) effects the outcome. Such a vast expanse of freedom without restraint is completely dangerous to an individual. And so I think that it is sometimes not up to the law to "grant us freedoms" but it is up to us to regulate our freedoms for our own good!

This reminds me of when I was a little munchkin who waited for my Mom to restock the cupboard with bags of chocolate chips (or those huge blocks of cooking chocolate.) "ha HA," I would think when I discovered a new stash --- Then grabbing as much as I could hold I would take it to an obscure location and eat every last bit. Man... those intense belly aches would have been very grateful if I would have regulated my freedom. Thus the reason for boundaries :) Thanks Mom and Dad for all those rules I didn't understand.

Here is another story that really got me thinking about it. I heard it in LDS General Conference. Mervyn B. Arnold described it like this:

When I was 15 years old, I often felt that there were too many rules and commandments. I wasn’t sure that a normal, fun-loving teenager could enjoy life with so many restrictions. Furthermore, the many hours spent working on my father’s ranch were seriously dipping into my time with my friends.

“This particular summer, one of my jobs was to ensure that the cows grazing on the mountain pasture did not break through the fence and get into the wheat field. A cow grazing on the growing wheat can bloat, causing suffocation and death. One cow in particular was always trying to stick her head through the fence. One morning, as I was riding my horse along the fence line checking on the cattle, I found that the cow had broken through the fence and gotten into the wheat field. To my dismay, I realized that she had been eating wheat for quite some time because she was already bloated and looked much like a balloon. I thought, ‘You stupid cow! That fence was there to protect you, yet you broke through it and you have eaten so much wheat that your life is in danger.’

“I raced back to the farmhouse to get my dad. However, when we returned, I found her lying dead on the ground. I was saddened by the loss of that cow. We had provided her with a beautiful mountain pasture to graze in and a fence to keep her away from the dangerous wheat, yet she foolishly broke through the fence and caused her own death.

“As I thought about the role of the fence, I realized that it was a protection, just as the commandments and my parents’ rules were a protection. The commandments and rules were for my own good. I realized that obedience to the commandments could save me from physical and spiritual death. That enlightenment was a pivotal point in my life.”

I am just thinking of all the blessings and the stability I have in my life because at some point I practiced restraint toward those specific ideas. For example:

1- Budgeting! By setting financial boundaries (like a savings account, a spending plan, paying tithing) I have always been able to avoid excessive debt and have been safeguarded from monetary hardships.

2- Healthy Living! When I limit the junk food, stick to a workout plan, and "say NO to Drugs" (hahaha) I enjoy a healthy body. And am free from substance addiction.

3- Morality! Setting my own boundaries here has definitely paid off. I won't even begin to estimate how many disasters and broken hearts I have avoided by maintaining a high moral standard. If I were to have acted on every sensual whim, I probably could have been pregnant by the age of 16, alone, and miserable by now.

Any of these consequences would have been WAY harder than following rules ever was.

Anyway, I am feeling enlightened and happy about where my life is. Glad that I have been taught to govern myself and my freedoms. Who would have thought that I could be so grateful for Restrictions?

"Each one of us will receive the consequences of our choices when this life is over. The commandments are clear, they are protective—they are not restrictive—and the wonderful blessings of obedience are numberless!"

posted by Jake and RaNette Free at 5:08 PM 1 comments