What Does Freedom Mean to You?

Freedom is one of my core values. It’s something I’ve chosen again and again throughout my life, sometimes without even realizing why.

Early on, I chose freedom in the way I worked. I became a hairdresser instead of entering the corporate world with its benefits, paid vacations, and retirement plans. That choice was deliberate. I wanted to set my own hours, to be off when my kids needed me, to take vacations when I wanted, and to create a life that allowed for flexibility and joy. I traded security for freedom.

And for a long time, I thought I was free.

But when I wrote my book Out of Hiding: Finding the Courage to Be Me, I realized something deeper: I hadn’t been truly free. Not on the inside. I didn’t feel free to fully express who I am.

Why?

Because I had spent much of my life looking into the eyes of others to find their answer to my truth. I wanted to please. I didn’t want to disappoint. I wanted to be liked. And so, without even knowing it, I traded parts of my freedom for acceptance, approval, and belonging.

But I’ve come to learn something vital: Your soul wants to be free. It wants to express fully what it came here to express. And when we honor that deep inner calling, we find joy—the kind of joy that isn’t dependent on anyone else’s agreement or approval or what we acquire or accomplish.

We begin to know who we are.

Yes, we live in a country where we speak of freedom often. But I’ve come to understand that freedom doesn’t start outside of us. It begins within.

We may face times when external freedoms feel threatened or limited, and those moments are real. But even then, we get to choose our response. We get to choose how we think. We get to tune in, not to the noise of the world, but to the truth of our soul.

We can ask:

• Does this feel true for me?
• Is this aligned with my values?
• Am I shrinking to fit in, or expanding to be who I came here to be?

Because here’s the truth: Real freedom is not the absence of challenge. It’s the presence of alignment. It’s the quiet calm you feel inside, even in the midst of chaos or disapproval. It’s knowing that even when others don’t agree, you’re not shaken because you’re grounded in who you are.

When we give ourselves that kind of freedom, we naturally extend it to others. We stop needing to fix or change people. We let them be who they are. We let love lead. We stop condemning, blaming, or labeling.

Freedom is a blessing. It’s a value that lives in the body, the soul, and the breath. It is the permission we give ourselves to live in integrity with our truth. And it’s the spaciousness we offer others when we stop controlling and start accepting.

So, I ask you:

What does freedom mean to you?

And what are you willing to trade, or not trade, to live it?

When we change the world changes.