Freedom

April is a month of freedom and the redemption of innocence.  Passover, Easter and Ramadan -- the April Holy days of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are about being made new, being born again out of the slavery of the ego into the spaciousness of Divine Mind.  The Spring Equinox is likewise the invitation of the Earth Mother to become again as little children, to be born anew in the wholeness of our potential."  Dr. Joan Borysenko

We are in the season of rebirth, from ancient myths and traditions to evidence in the world of nature; a time Dr. Borysenko says is symbolic of freeing ourselves from the slavery of our egos.  That is somewhat hard to imagine -- that we are slaves to a part of ourselves, but other teachers support this idea.  A goal of lifetime is to free ourselves from the clutches of ego.  Perhaps that is how people like Dr. Viktor Frankl experienced freedom - even in the midst of a concentration camp.  Perhaps it does not matter so much our external circumstances, but our interior ones.  Being a caregiver for someone with dementia can be imprisoning too - we literally have less freedom, less time to follow our own pursuits.  In what ways can we have more freedom within the role of caregiver?  If we follow Dr. Borysenko's advice, it is by freeing ourselves from our own egos.  This involves becoming other-centered, versus self-centered.  It involves remembering that we are all connected.