Henri Nouwen said: “Where true inner freedom is, there is God. And where God is, there we want to be.” This resonates with St Augustine’s famous words: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
The general idea of freedom is the ability to act or change without any constraint; that of doing things our way, how, when and where we want. Yet embedded in each one of us is a deep longing for ‘inner’ freedom, finding our true selves, liberating us from constraints and norms that hinder our personal, spiritual growth and lead us to dwell in our ‘false’ self.
The quest of personal identity and self-esteem often pushes people to focus their mind on something; they need something to be someone, such as fame, fortune or other kinds of self-benefit. This self-centredness seems to be the only recipe to fit in and gain recognition from the wider society. Other people have a more dignified sense of well-being and find deep meaning in having healthy relations with family and friends, fostering their career or excelling in artistic talent.
But then there are others whose innermost consolation is to generate compassion and place their minds on the benefit of others, for as Nelson Mandela put it: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived but the difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead”.
Our fragility and vulnerability lead us to shift back and forth from one path to another – between separate states of consciousness and divine states. Sometimes we are engulfed by our ego or simply doing our ‘own’ thing, sometimes deeply consoled by our valued relationship with friends and family, and at times inspired to go beyond our comfort zones to exercise compassion and walk the extra mile especially with the disadvantaged. The choices we make are correlated to our own level of inner freedom, a sense of authentic self-consciousness of who we really are, a genuine discovery of our true self and the purpose of our creation, with all its goodness, and yes, with all its vulnerability too.
The very core of our being is impregnated with God’s plan for our life, our unique destiny, a calling to manifest our unique talents and gifts for the building of his kingdom.
But the road to inner freedom is often shackled by multiple layers of negative life experiences or abuse. Because of fear, we may choose to remain in our safety zone, a life imprisoned in the false self as long as others are pleased with us or only accept us that way… or we may choose to live an authentic life through discovering our true self, through a healing process of personal transformation founded in the truths of the living word of God, in particular a process of forgiveness towards those who have bullied, manipulated and abused us in our life.
The road to inner freedom is a process of spiritual discernment, that of surrendering our egocentric or disordered desires to the divine within. It is through a serious commitment to our spiritual journey that we discover our own divinity and creative potential for a better world.
Gordon Vassallo, Spiritual guide at Centre for Ignatian Spirituality