Spiritual Freedom - The Ability to Choose

There is something unique about being human that distinguishes us from every other creature on the planet. That is that we are self-aware. Your self-awareness allows you to process information even while you are in the middle of other mental activity. Our gift of self-awareness also lends itself to our independent will. Our creator has endowed each of us with the independent ability to choose. That ability to choose is what I call Choices and your point of view the "C" in finding your V.O.I.C.E., making value based choices and being positive.

This past weekend I was one of those stranded people you saw on the news as I was stuck in the Philadelphia Airport. The airport was shut down due to the blizzard that hit the Northeast, and I managed to arrive from a training course I was conducting right before the closure. If you have never been through this I can tell you that it is quite an adventure. Before the airport closed people were rushing from place to place hoping that they could catch a flight to their destination. Yet, as the snow continued to fall, flight after flight was cancelled. Conditions deteriorated rapidly both inside and outside of the airport. I have learned that in these situations the airlines do not provide much information that you might find helpful. This of course results in confusion and frustration among the passengers. I saw numerous instances of tempers flaring among passengers as well as airport workers, vendors, and airline crew members.

Like everyone else at the airport that afternoon, I really wanted to get to my final destination which for me was Pittsburgh. I shuffled from line to line seeking information or trying to get booked on the next flight out. While I was in one very long line a man behind me began shouting something and before I could turn around to see what he was yelling about he hit me in the head with what felt like a magazine or newspaper. Now, I want you to understand that at this point in the day I had already been teaching for about 5 hours, endured a harrowing van ride to the airport, and was experiencing the anxiety of being told that I might not make it home that evening as planned. To say that I was just a bit tense at that point would be an understatement. Of course my fellow screaming and whacking passenger could not have known or perhaps did not care about what I might be feeling when he hit me in the head. The thought that flashed through my mind at that instant was the picture of the young girl in “The Exorcist” when her head turned without her body moving. For a brief second I was ready to lash out at this screaming, hitting crazy person. In that brief instant I was also reminded that I had a choice in how I handled this situation.

I am not a physically foreboding person. At my height of just over six feet I don’t weigh more than 178 pounds and that is when I wear my heaviest shoes. I have not been physically intimidating ever in my life. But, I have developed over the years a voice and look that can stop you in your tracks. As I was preparing to deliver the look and the voice, I was reminded that just like me this man was also anxious. He too probably wanted to get home to a loved one and very much needed the security that comes with understanding his destiny. He simply had lost his ability to handle the circumstances of the long lines and the general air of uncertainty. In that situation he had clearly lost his V.O.I.C.E and made a bad choice. My opportunity to demonstrate my V.O.I.C.E. was clear. Rather than giving the look, I put on my kindest smile and turned to the man and said “you hitting me on the head just made me understand that I am not the only person here that is pretty frustrated by these delays. Where are you trying to go?” The man was speechless. He turned beet red and began to stammer an apology.

In the end this man ended up spending the night at the airport sleeping on the benches just like me. I ran into him a number of times during the evening as we scavenged for food, sought out pillows and blankets, and tried to find a comfortable and safe place to sleep. Imagine the difference in those other encounters and the impact on this man’s views just by my small choice.

When we make choices that are rooted in our values we take control of our lives. More importantly, remember that no matter the circumstances you always have a choice.

They cannot take away our self respect unless we give it to them – Gandhi