Tag Archives: freedom

Our Essence is Freedom

There was a time in Hawaii – I will never forget it – when the ocean spoke to me of freedom. A storm was blowing in from Japan, and word in the community was that within a couple of days the surfing would be stellar. That same night, my partner and I awoke at midnight to the thunderous sound of pounding waves. We headed out immediately to check it out at a beach somewhat nearby.

This was one of the calmer beaches, not a surfer hangout. The waves were already spectacular! There were no man-made lights, save for several small dots twinkling way off in the far distance.

Uncommon Wild Beauty

When we arrived, the scene that lay before us took my breath away. The beach and the water were lit brilliantly by a magnificent full moon. Light clouds flitted in and out in the strong breeze. The rolling huge waves frothed white in the blazing moonlight, crashing wildly on the shore.

We took our shoes off and walked. The beauty and power of the scene were intoxicating, and my soul was unleashed in a way I had never experienced before.

Nature Speaks to our Essence

I felt what it means to be just a human being on the Earth, and the inherent freedom of my soul. For just a little while, the pulse of nature ran through me like a jolt of electricity. I felt the wildness and joy of my essence. I was completely alive, and I did not want that feeling to end.

The wild, untamed places discovered in my travels without fail have this affect; they speak to my soul. And I have come to understand this:

Our essence is freedom, and we must never let that go.

A quote about freedom from Shawshank Redemption:

“Sometimes it makes me sad, though… Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they’re gone. I guess I just miss my friend.”

Claim Your Bright Feathers

Too many people don’t realize that their feathers are too bright to be caged. When that changes, the world also will change. It’s time to claim your bright feathers, if you have not done so already.

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© Susan L Hart 2022 |  HartInspirations.com | My ebooks

Let Go of Judgment

“Imagine living your life without fear of being judged by others. You no longer rule your behavior according to what others think about you. You are no longer responsible for anyone’s opinion. You have no need to control anyone, and no one controls you, either.” ~ Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements

Judgment of others leads to a need to control others. “You must think, say, and do as I do, or you are not acceptable!” 

The bigger point may be, “If you do not think, say, or do as I do, I fear that I am not acceptable or have made a wrong choice.” When we become secure in ourselves, we release the need to judge and control others. Think of how much precious energy we all expend on this type of behavior, to one degree or another!  What a waste…

Letting go of judgment is one of the most expansive things we can do for ourselves and others.


© Susan L Hart | January 22, 2022 | HartInspirations.com | My ebooks

Finding Meaning 2022

How do you define life? Many of us tend to be so wound up in the doing of it, we forget to make time to contemplate why we are here, what is the meaning of life, what gives it quality and fulfillment.

Life is not simply about survival, but the mainstream media would have us believe that is the case. Fear can take over our minds, if we are not careful.

All of the wholesome elements that we have known create a strong mind, body, and spirit still apply. Fresh air, nature, nourishing food, physical exercise, adequate rest, playfulness, companionship, friendship, doing what we love. Oh yes, and the big one, simply LOVE in all of its forms and connections.

Embrace what feels good to you and resonates with your very soul. The meaning of your life should be what you decide it is, not some vision that is “assigned to you” by external anything or anyone. Has your vision of what gives meaning to life changed in the past two years? What would you like 2022 to look like, to feel like?

It’s time to put your creative mind and your intentional actions to work. Great things are not built on mere wishes.

Inspirational Quotes:

“Ignore those that make you fearful and sad, that degrade you back towards disease and death.” ~ Rumi 

“The aim is to balance the terror of being alive with the wonder of being alive.” ~ Carlos Casteneda 

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There are many aspects to success; material wealth is only one component. …But success also includes good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well-being, and peace of mind.” ~ Deepak Chopra


Finding Meaning in 2022 © Susan L Hart 2021 | Friendly comments welcome | Photo courtesy monicore, Pixabay

Pinnacle of Spirit

Mighty Chimborazo! If you have never heard of it, Chimborazo is a dormant volcano, the highest mountain in Ecuador, and the highest peak near the equator. At 20,548 ft., its summit is the farthest point on the Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center. The indigenous in Ecuador have dubbed Chimborazo “Taita”, meaning father.

Chimborazo takes my breath away

Two years ago I was fortunate to visit Chimborazo National Park. A guide drove our little group about three-quarters of the way up the mountain to a rest station, at about 16,000 ft. We got out of the van to walk around, and we all experienced dizziness and shortness of breath with very little exertion.

I was quite frankly in awe of the power and majesty of this mountain, and also the fact that one of my friends had (on a whim!) climbed from base to summit some years ago. What an accomplishment! Our guide told us that this is one of the most dangerous mountains in the world and other climbers have perished attempting to conquer it.

The feeling of freedom

As I stood at our rest point and gazed upward to the summit, my spirit soared. I have experienced this at other spectacular nature spots in my travels. I was lost in the magnitude and grandeur of the space. In that moment, I was simply a human being connected to the Earth, unencumbered by what I am required to be in our civilization.

It was just the sky, Chimborazo, and me.

And my spirit felt free.


More in Chimborazo here: Mount Chimborazo is Actually the Highest Point on Earth

Feeling a sudden urge to climb Chimborazo? A few tips for you: Chimborazo


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Pinnacle of Spirit © Susan L Hart 2021 | Friendly comments welcome | Photos, Susan Hart

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Golden Moments

“Time is the school in which we learn, Time is the fire in which we burn.” are the profound last lines of the poem, Calmly We Walk through This April’s Day, by Delmore Schwartz. It’s a beautiful philosophical contemplation of the passage of time, with a particularly great wrap-up last stanza.

The seconds, minutes, hours tick away relentlessly. Our lives are busy, and inundated with many distractions and responsibilities. Lately I’m looking at my age and thinking, “Wow! It’s going faster than I ever imagined at age 18.”

Realistically, we don’t have time to sit around and endlessly ponder about the value of time and our lives. But, it’s useful to carve out a little time (from time to time) for such introspection. Because your life IS precious, and the clock IS ticking. Ask yourself in this moment, are you spending it the way you would really like to?

The new year 2021 will soon be upon us. In retrospect, too many precious moments fell through the cracks in the turmoil of 2020, never to be lived. It is a good time now to think about how we will spend 2021. Because indeed, these are our lives, and it is OUR time.

It is crucially important (now more than ever) to have vision and intention for our lives. Otherwise, we will just end up with someone else’s idea of how life should be.


© Susan L Hart 2020 |  Friendly comments welcome.

Photo courtesy Amit Pal and John, Pexels

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Peace on Earth

As 2020 draws to a close, perhaps Peace is the thing for which we most pray right now. 2020 has been a year of turmoil, confusion, and fear. It’s not just that the world is a mess. Our inner peace has been turned on its ear by a virus called COVID-19.

As Siddhārtha Gautama said, “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” Yes, peace begins with each of us. If we do not somehow find our own inner peace in this turbulence, then we are contributing to the collective angst.

We are the power that will create change. There is no one coming to save us; we must save ourselves. That is the whole point to this extreme growth period in which humanity finds itself.

Rather than praying for “deliverance”, ask for strength, knowledge, wisdom, courage, and most of all a way to find your own inner peace to deal with the outer chaos. Then you will walk in the world feeling balanced and with intention to be a spark of light that helps to create change and peace for humanity.

Align peacefully with your own wisdom and light, and trust that you will know the right things to do.

For those readers who celebrate it tomorrow, wishing for you a Christmas Day of great joy, abundance, love, and sharing with your family and friends. May we all partake of these gifts in the coming days ahead.

Inspirational Quotes:

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.” ~ Rumi

“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” ~ Albert Einstein

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~ Mother Teresa

“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there would be peace.” ~ John Lennon


© Susan L Hart 2020 |  Friendly comments welcome | Photo courtesy Maria Orlova, Pexels

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Unquestioning

If you are someone who has always counted on things around you to simply be fixed, somehow, by someone else, those days are gone. Our world and reality are in extreme transition.

Time to start really paying attention to events, the unfolding, and not only to what you see, but also what you don’t see. What’s missing?

Time to watch for the incongruities, the inconsistencies, the little details between the lines. Do not persist in looking straight ahead with blinders on. See what is there on the periphery, hiding almost out of view.

Time to question, question, question.

Time to start taking personal responsibility for your future.

And most of all, time to listen to your gut, what your own inner wisdom tells you.

Inspirational Quotes:

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day.” ~ Albert Einstein

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” ~ Voltaire

“It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.” ~ Albert Einstein

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” ~ Zora Neale Hurston

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ~ Voltaire

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© Susan L Hart 2020 |  Friendly comments welcome | Photos courtesy Nate Cohen, Pexels and Lars_Nissen, Pixabay

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