Do you think that allowing yourself to be enslaved to someone kind of goes against the idea of freedom?
As a Christian, I believe that freedom comes from living within boundaries that were made for my protection. I used to think Christians lived such boring lives. I also used to think that they were just religious freaks, following a bunch of rules, and having no fun. Little did I know (at the time) that I was the one that was imprisoned. I believed a lie.
I believe I have freedom now. Freedom to be all that I was created to be. Freedom to say no to that which will harm me. Freedom to live within healthy and safe boundaries. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
What does ‘freedom’ mean to you? Do you believe that boundaries are needed to truly be free?
The cinquain poetry form is a 5-line, unrhymed poem. It contains 22 syllables and each line has a different syllable count:
Line 1=2 syllables, 2=4, 3=6, 4=8, 5=2.
The photo was taken in Ouro Preto-MG, Brasil.
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Published by stacilys
I’m just a simple girl that is passionate about being relevant and making a difference in this world.
World traveler, lover of bright sunny days, experiencing cultures, good friends and conversation. I love my God and love my family.
I don’t believe that I have the Truth, but that I have a relationship with Truth and want to be closer to Him.
Canadian, born and raised in Vancouver, BC. YWAMer since 2000 and have traveled and lived all over the world –Hong Kong, China, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Turkey, Germany, Argentina, Australia and The USA.
I moved to Brazil in 2002, married an awesome “Baiano”, Daniel, and we have two adorable kiddies, Caue and Hannah.
I am certified in fitness and nutrition and conducted physical conditioning classes while working with an arts and evangelism team and schools. I am also certified in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and TEYL (Teaching English to Young Learners).
"A God Coloured Girl in a Grey World" is my blog where I write articles based on my faith, post fitness routines, recipes and other health and wellness stuff. You can also check out a bit of my music at www.myspace.com/stacilys
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stacilys.wordpress.com 
Short post, but so spot-on! As a parent, I’ve learned that children thrive and feel safe when there are boundaries. As a child of the King, like my kids, I may still fight those boundaries, but because I know someone else has my best interests at heart, I feel actually feel more freedom than constraint!
Great comment Christine. Yes, it’s so true about children. I have two of my own. My oldest has Asperger’s Syndrome. If you let the child run rampant, there’s no telling what damage he can do. Bless you.
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love the poetry!! Glad to have you back Staci ❤ ❤
Thank you so much sweetie.
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I think that it depends on who sets the boundaries and for whom. In the secular world, they set the values, and it corrupts, at least for me. To some extent, the secularists seem to set boundaries far beyond what I was brought up believing. I suppose it’s part of the ‘do it if it feels good’ scene. That’s trouble because you will become slave to some vice and no longer be free. More importantly, WELCOME BACK! It’s great to read you again, Staci!
You made a good point there Rob, the “do it if it feels good’ thing. And that’s the big problem with modern western culture. Society, as a whole, places deep value on personal peace and affluence. If it’s good for me, then there’s no wrong to it. It doesn’t matter if it harms someone else. It’s all about ‘me, me, me’. Very selfish actually. And then, if there aren’t any boundaries, where does morality lie? Without boundaries, the only final outcome could be chaos. So then, freedom does not equal the lack of boundaries and rules. Freedom equals living within those boundaries and rules for the good oneself and others.
Thanks a ton Rob. You always give great input. And thank you so much for the hearty, encouraging welcome back.
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Wonderful poems and wonderful words to accompany them. We need the safety of boundaries (“truth boundaries”) that exist within freedom — I agree. Total boundary-free freedom is a very scary idea to me, and one I wish to never see. Again, it’s good to see you back; I’ve missed your posts!
Hey Benjamin. I agree totally with you. It’s a total lie to think that one is free if they are not tied down to any sort of rules or boundaries. Imagine what society would look like if we didn’t have any. Total, utter chaos. That tells me that there is a reason for morality, and a reason why total morality doesn’t exist. Hmmmmmm. Something to ponder I’d say. 🙂
It’s so good to be back and I’m so encouraged by your sweet words. I’m so glad we’re friends here.
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Well yes, I can imagine. In fact, I wrote my on take about the dangers of total of freedom once before. It is no place I would like to live, and I think your poem shows the contrast of those two worlds, and why I felt a deep connection to your words. Boundaries, in some ways, make us feel freer. I agree, definitely a reason why morality exists. YES! Wonderful to see you back at your WordPress home. I’m glad we’re friends here, too 🙂 my email is: benpaulgrossman@gmail.com.
Boundries are important. They keep us safe, if we choose to follow them. Great having you back, Staci. 🙂
I know you agree with me Audrey. Imagine what the world would look like without any eh. Hehehe (did you notice the Canadian there?) The unfortunate thing is all of us, at least at one point or another, choose not to follow them.
It’s great to be back. Thanks for the encouragement.
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This is a beautiful post ❤
Thank you so much Leyla. By the way, I was in Buenos Aires a couple weeks ago. I was practicing my Porañol (hehehe-portuguese and spanish mixed).
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It is great to see you back! And I agree with you, wholeheartedly… Freedom without responsibility has all the hallmarks of anarchy which breeds a “might” is “right” culture… And, of course, this is not ideal at all… to say the least.
Heyyyyyyy there. Great to see you. Thank you so much for the sweet greeting and welcome back.
It’s funny, because I used to think that freedom was not having to live by rules or boundaries. Boy was I wrong.
Bless you.
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I couldn’t be more thrilled that you are back!!! 🙂
Freedom…to me it is very personal. I am the one who put shackles on myself….so I have been in the process of unlocking them…one by one…and every time the metal clanks to the floor I feel lighter. As a proverbial “people pleaser” and “middle child” I placed other’s opinions and wants and needs higher than my own. It has been liberating to understand that I can take care of myself “first” and then what is left for the others is even stronger!! So I would have to say that freedom for me has been to nurture myself…to love myself unconditionally 🙂 ❤ ❤
Hi Lorrie
So great to see you here. I also am a middle child, however never felt much about it. The people pleasing thing has set me into high anxiety before though, which is awful. I lived with a girl once that I felt I had to please. Always that feeling of walking on eggshells. Not a fun feeling at all.
That’s so great that you have (or are still) overcoming that. We can’t really love others very well unless we love ourselves, right?
Bless you, my friend.
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You said it…in a nutshell (instead of walking on eggshells…I HATE walking on eggshells!) 🙂 Self love…and forgiveness are two biggies for me. Hope you are flourishing dear Staci…many blessings to you ❤
I hate walking on eggshells too. Not a very healthy thing to do. 🙂
Lorrie, thank you so much for your care. I am trying to flourish. I’m still not settled here and so many things in my life have changed. I like change. I see it as something positive. However, it can be really difficult when routine and structure don’t take place soon. Hopefully this week I’ll know if we have a place of our own here on our base. I’m crossing my fingers for a quick and favourable answer.
Bless you, my friend.
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SHE’s BACK!! Yay!! Can you see me doing my happy dance over here in FL?!? And you are back with a bang! God gives us freedom with boundaries so we don’t hurt ourselves. We always have free will to choose, but freedom without boundaries often leads us to sin. So we have the choice of the freedom we will live in. God’s true freedom or the enemy’s false freedom. Love your picture and poem!! I really am glad you are back Staci 🎉🎉🎉😀
Hahahahaha. That’s so sweet. A happy dance eh?
“Back with a bang”? Awww, thanks.
Yes, I agree. We have free will. It’s our choices that will determine whether we’re truly ‘free’ or not.
It’s great to be back Kirsten, and thank you so much for the encouragement. You’re awesome.
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Hi Staci, welcome back…hope you have great break. Was missing your posts and lovely thoughts…
Wonderful idea to rekindle our thought…freedom is so precious to all of us and we don’t how much freedom needed and how to handle freedom…it is delicate.
I believe freedom can be absolute and it has have some counter and shape and boundaries and what is right is a big question and each of us have different assumptions and expectations as regard the extent and content of freedom is concerned…
Have a great week ahead and we shall continue our discussion.
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Heyyyyyyy Nihar. Great to see you here. I actually opened up to your blog here on my computer, but haven’t gotten around to reading yet. Definitely will today.
Concerning freedom, I think that God has put within us all a moral calculator and conscience. It’s up to us to listen to it or not. If we didn’t have any boundaries at all in the world, then we would have utter chaos. I used to think that freedom was found simply in doing whatever I please, and not by following any rules. I now know that was soooo wrong.
Have a great start to your week Nihar, and I look forward to our discussions.
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Great to hear back from you Staci, really missed our conversations…good to hear that you had a good time.
So nicely put that “God has put the moral calculator and conscience”, I couldn’t have thought it better.
Yes, freedom is not absolute and we need to know our boundaries and build our references for using the freedom given to us with responsibility and understanding…
The freedom to express ourselves and communicate with each other with such beautiful thoughts and words make the freedom of expression such an wonderful instrument to enhance human understanding and better engagement.
Just the beginning of our discussion, looking forward.
cheers!!!
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Awwwww, thanks Nihar. It’s great to be back. It’s also great to be having these discussions again with you. I’m so glad you enjoyed my comment.
There is this one blogger I like to read, (http://culturemonk.com/). I think you would really enjoy him too. He’s getting his doctorate in philosophy.
Anyhow, one thing you mentioned is really key – “responsibility”. We all have free will, but what we do with it is what matters. Will we be enslaved to right or wrong? Maybe that doesn’t make much sense. What I believe can be found here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6%3A15-23.
“The freedom to express ourselves and communicate with each other with such beautiful thoughts and words make the freedom of expression such an wonderful instrument to enhance human understanding and better engagement.”
–Here here to that. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t freely express myself. The freedom of personal expression truly is an amazing gift. That’s what makes the blogosphere such a special place.
Have a great day Nihar.
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I agree with you about freedom, in terms of being free from fears and worries of the real world. I’m not sure, once you go off on your own, if you can trust the boundaries anymore. I’m too much of a cynic. I believe in the goodness of the individual, but not in corporations, government, and other factions in the world that are thinking “me, me, me”.
But intuitively, I think boundaries set for protection of you and others, and personal liberties, are two separate things. If you were the only person on this earth, you can be truly free to attempt whatever a human being can do. But we are all born into the gears of the civilization machine, and the machine cannot function if we all had that freedom. It’s something that every reasonable person who chooses to live among others, will accept, in exchange for the protections and facilities of modern life.
Do I feel free? I think so. What I feel “enslaved to” are the results of my personal choices. That is what gives me peace of mind. I work not just within the boundaries of society, but within my personal life as well, and still I have all the freedom I need to do what I want to do. Mostly I just post cat pictures though.
“I believe in the goodness of the individual, but not in corporations, government, and other factions in the world that are thinking “me, me, me”.
–Ok, don’t get me started on this one. I live in Brazil and it’s crazy here right now. Brazilians were out on the streets throughout the entire country demanding impeachment of the president. I don’t know if you’ve heard much in the news and all, but we are undergoing such an enormous case of corruption at the moment within the government that many high up government officials are being investigated right now. The whole situation with ‘Petrobras’ and the government is being considered the largest case of corruption in a democratic country throughout all of history. It’s crazy. Even the police were out in the streets on Friday, demanding impeachment.
“But intuitively…”
–I LOVE how you said ‘intuitively’, because I totally believe that we all have moral laws written on our hearts. We all instinctively know that there is a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. We also have this lovely thing called, ‘conscience’. It’s something that, as you said, is there for protection. Imagine if humanity didn’t have any boundaries at all. The only outcome would be utter chaos and anarchy. Eek.
“What I feel “enslaved to” are the results of my personal choices.”
–Exactly. We are definitely enslaved to whatever we have chosen. Like I used to smoke a ton of dope when I was quite a bit younger. I became dependent on it. I needed it. Thank God I’m not enslaved to that any more. My lungs especially thank me for it. hehehe.
Great thoughts Scott. Thanks for enriching the conversation here.
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“Freedom to say no to that which will harm me.” Put so well.
Thanks D.
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