What Is Freedom?

As this nation celebrated Independence Day and as people gave thanks for living in a "free" country, I asked myself "What does it mean to be free?" And that is the question I pose to all of you....What does freedom mean to you?

For fun, I looked up freedom in the dictionary. One of the definitions read " the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action" and "the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination"

We live in a time when there are so many opportunities out there for all of us. To me, freedom is a lot of different things. It's the ability to pursue an education or a career. It's the ability to get in the car or on a plane to go visit family and friends. It's the ability to worship how I want. I really like how the one definition says that with freedom we can make decision without constraint "from within or without". It never occurred to me that I can restrict my own freedom by that which is "within" me. My thoughts can restrict my freedoms. I think freedom is much more than what we think.

I really enjoyed this little clip on Freedom and hearing people from all over the world talking about what freedom is to them.

Our Purpose

This blog is dedicated to women and the strength that comes from our daily lives to our most trying moments. This blog is about sharing strength.  Our hope for this blog is to reach out and learn from one another. We want this to be an arena of hope and expression, where we can feel free to share our experiences and vulnerabilities without reservation.

The following poem by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr. is a perfect example of an Oak Tree and how it relates to us: 

The Oak Tree

by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr.

A mighty wind blew night and day.

It stole the Oak Tree's leaves away.

Then snapped its boughs

and pulled its bark

until the Oak was tired and stark.

But still the Oak Tree held its ground

while other trees fell all around.

The weary wind gave up and spoke,

"How can you still be standing Oak?"

The Oak Tree said, I know that you

can break each branch of mine in two,

carry every leaf away,

shake my limbs and make me sway.

But I have roots stretched in the earth,

growing stronger since my birth.

You'll never touch them, for you see

they are the deepest part of me.

Until today, I wasn't sure

of just how much I could endure.

But now I've found with thanks to you,

I'm stronger than I ever knew.

In a world full of uncertainty and disappointments, we can face each day with faith, optimism, and hopefully, some humor! Each one of us carries wisdom developed from strife. We want to tap into that wisdom that keeps our roots steady when the winds come. That's the lesson of the Oak Tree. Those are the lessons we want to share.

We will have weekly topics where a well-rounded forum of contributors will share their thoughts and experiences. The posts will range from the profound to the laugh-out-loud funny depending on the personality and mood of the contributor.

Every contributor to The Oak carries a Pseudo Name. We don't want who we are to interrupt what we've learned. And, isn't it kinda fun to have an alias? LOL. Visit our Pseudo Name blog entry to read more.

We are extremely excited about creating this blog. We hope you as readers will "comment" your thoughts and feelings so we can learn from you. If you are interested in sharing an experience or becoming an author, please email us at theoaktreesisters@gmail.com.

After all, we all affect each other. Let's strengthen one another's roots and not create harsh wind! Together we are stronger.