What does freedom really feel like?
There once was a little goldfish that always dreamed of being totally and completely free. Even though it lived a very content and fulfilling life, it still wanted to see and experience what life was like outside of its tank.
And so one night, after it’s owner had lovingly sprinkled in some fish food and turned of all of the lights in his dental clinic, this little goldfish began to jump. As it flapped its little fins furiously and wiggled its tail with all of its might, it’s body shot out of the water. But it couldn’t jump high enough to clear the rim. It plopped back into the water with a disappointing little splash.
It tried over and over again, until it finally vaulted over the walls of its glass prison. As it tumbled down onto the cold sterile ground of the waiting room, it wiggled with delight. For in that moment, it has finally realized its dream of being totally free.
But after a minute or two of floundering about helplessly on the ground, the goldfish realized that freedom didn’t taste exactly as it had imagined. Without water, it couldn’t swim where ever it pleased. It couldn’t do whatever it wanted to do. Instead the freedom it felt seemed stifling and cold. And by the time the goldfish was discovered lying on the ground in the morning, it was too late for the dentist rescue it.
A lot of us may naively assume that true freedom is being able to do whatever we wanted; without any limitations or restrictions. But the fences and the walls that are erected around our lives are not always meant to control or restrain us. Rather some healthy rules and limitations are sometimes designed to actually protect and nurture us. Therefore, real freedom is having the ability to embrace the right limitations and conditions that empower us to fully be who we were designed to be.
