Thoughts that Liberate

I am not your judge.  A judge decides guilt or innocence, and has the power to choose your fate.  The realization that I am not your judge may seem trite, or patently obvious, but it sets me free from responsibility for your decisions.  Therefore, I am completely absolved of guilt for who you are or what you do.  I can agree or disagree, give or withhold support, or play the part of an innocent bystander.  Ultimately, you alone will determine your legacy and your destiny.

I can love you.  Whether you deserve it or not, whether you accept it or not, whether you even want it or not, my insistence on loving you does not diminish me as a person.  I will not enable you to do wrong things, nor will I be silent whenever I should speak out, but my love for you remains my own personal, sacred choice.  I am liberated to love.

I can forgive you.  If you have done something to hurt me, I will strive to forgive you.  A lack of forgiveness keeps the door open for bitterness, resentment and hatred to find a way into my heart.  You may feel better if you know that I forgive you, and that’s good, but forgiveness sets my own spirit free from bondage.  The forgiveness I offer you is not between you and me.  It is between God and me.

I am the architect of my own attitude.  I have observed that people who are oppressed struggle with desires to do or to be something that they think is forbidden to them.  They may not be free from political oppression or tyranny, but when that oppression is generated by perceptions, culture, prejudice or pre-conceived notions, then the struggle is self-inflicted.  If there is no actual tyrant, no one should become his or her own tyrant.   

I can believe.  I can break any shackle that tries to bind me with chains of impossibility.  I can escape from any wall or ceiling that threatens to stop me from believing.  No law, no opinion, no sneer, no criticism, no rejection or no captor can control my spirit if I choose to exercise my faith.   

I never have enough time.  Even if I started earlier, it still wouldn’t work because my vision is bigger than I thought it was.  It’s better to have a vision too big for the time allotted, than a small vision that wastes time.  Freedom to pursue a big vision liberates my creativity and challenges me to be all I can be.

More liberating thoughts: 

If you walk far enough, you will see everything you need to see.
Out of earshot, most people pleasers don’t.
As the wind blows mosquitoes away, big thoughts drive out petty grievances.
Rainwater reveals the lay of the land.
Scavengers come for the scraps because they are unwelcome for the main meal.
Dream about doing important things, but not about being important.
The reason I walk is because I have someplace to go.
Why do the ducks always misread my motives?
Kids will always throw mud in the water as long as they are kids.
Don’t marry face, body, brains or brawn; marry heart.
Watch out for people who can’t laugh at themselves.
God reserves his most spectacular views for those who get out of bed early.
Why simulate when you can go there yourself?
Time forgives no one who refuses his offerings.
Go to the trees; they will not come to you.
True love can only be validated by action.
Not wanting something is equal to having it.
Walk slowly through the crowd.
If you’re not going to think about the solution, don’t think about the problem.
In business, say only what is necessary; in love be lavish.
Don’t die from someone else’s disease.
Appreciate the gratitude of others, but don’t rely on it.
Isolation is dangerous.
First, you must care.
Think, decide, and then act boldly.
Plan all the way to the end.
Master the art of timing.
Despise the free lunch.
Never change too much at once.
Learn when to stop.
Once in awhile, tear up the agenda.
Your relationship with God comes first.
Reflection is a later by-product of looking into the water.
Where you walk determines how you walk.
Progress is more a function of direction than distance.
Most of the time we see what we expect to see.
A pebble in your shoe is worse than a tree limb across your path.