Freedom is the oxygen of the soul. – Moshe Dayan
The Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989. 20 years ago East and West Berliners danced together in front at the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate the re-opening of the border between their two cities. This event also reunited Germany and then eventually reunited the rest of the world when the Iron Curtain was brought down a short time later.
The shoot-to-kill zone was gone, the Cold War was ending, families were brought back together and a new order was being restored. Peace was allowed to exist in a space that claimed nearly 200 lives.
Many Germans used their bare hands to hasten the reunification of their beloved country. The significance of that day was not lost on anyone there. The obstacle to freedom was now removed. Life would continue again. Healing was on its way. Freedom would once again be savored.
The anniversary of this demolition gives us the opportunity to see the other walls we erect in our lives. These walls can keep us from experiencing the same sense of freedom, peace and hope the Berlin Wall did for 28 years. Acknowledging these walls is the first step to their destruction.
The Wall of Blame
It’s easy to blame events or other people when we are not happy with what we have. Blame tosses responsibility outward rather than taking an inward look at the life we have created based on our choices.
Bringing down The Wall of Blame
Blame keeps us from being accountable and blame keeps us from enjoying the empowerment we possess to build a life according to our specifications. Freedom does indeed come with a price. To be able to pay the price, we must stop blaming others for the condition and quality of our life. No one is doing anything to us that we are not allowing them to do.
Bring down the Wall of Blame by accepting 100% responsibility for your choices. You are free to create the life you want.
The Wall of Resentment
Resentment is usually born when we feel animosity toward someone who we believe has treated us badly or when we feel angry about a negative situation that has occurred in our life.
Resentment can also be found when we allow others to treat us without the respect or the dignity we deserve. Left unattended, resentment will continue to fester until its power can be overwhelming. If we are not careful, our resentment can extend to other areas in our life which can cloud our ability to see the good things we do have.
Bringing down The Wall of Resentment
Giving a name to the resentment is the first step. Acknowledge who or what you resent. Identity it and recognize it. Seek understanding in how the resentment first started. After coming to terms with this revelation, write a letter.
This letter can be directed to a person or to a situation. Don’t hold back when expressing your feelings. However, it’s not important to send the letter. Rather, place it in a safe place and refer to it when you feel the resentment beginning to creep back. Read the letter again and add to it, if necessary, until the feelings of resentment are once again better understood.
The Wall of Procrastination
Tomorrow is the most dangerous word. When our hope and dreams hinge on taking action tomorrow we are only setting ourselves for more waiting; more procrastination. When inspiration strikes, and after completing the appropriate research, take action when the voice of your inner wisdom says, “Go.”
Bringing down The Wall of Procrastination
My friend and follow blogger Alex Fayle aptly names procrastination as Someday Syndrome. Alex states, “Every time you say ‘Someday’ – big or small – you put off the life you want and merely exist.”
The best time to do something is right now; in this moment. Today is our only guarantee. Begin writing the book; make contact with the person you have been neglecting; or begin a healthier lifestyle. Begin today; right now.
The Wall of Lost Hope
When we lose hope our world becomes darker. Light struggles to seep through the most fortified of all the Walls. The absence of hope triggers despair and then ultimately defeat. Our souls collapse when hope is lost.
The Wall of Lost Hope is also the most dangerous Wall because when we lose our passion to keep moving forward in life, we usually give up on our dreams. The death of our soul is then complete.
Bringing down The Wall of Lost Hope
It begins with the question, “How badly do you want it?” How much do you want to obtain the thing that once filled you with hope? The energy to begin again never really goes away, just our spirit to find it and then to feel it.
The word hopeless literally means to hope less. What would it look like if you used a new word; the word hopemore?
When doubt begins to trump hope, adopt the attitude to refuse to lose. Confront the enemy of your soul and ask him to leave. Ask for hope to return. As hope begins to occupy the space once filled with doubt, your spirit will begin to be re-nourished thus providing the ability to generate more hope one piece at a time. Over time these pieces of hope will provide the foundation necessary to scale the Wall of Lost Hope.
The Wall of Silence
We have a voice for a reason. God gives us the ability to speak so we can tell others what we believe and what we need. Our silence only keeps us from claiming the life we deserve.
Bringing down The Wall of Silence
You are worthy. The fact life was breathed into your body makes you worthy to ask for what you want. Use your voice to sing, to proclaim, to pierce the silence that keeps you from saying the words that will take you from a place of desperation and to a place of abundance.
Shout out loud, “I am enough,” and watch your light begin to fill the space where darkness and silence once existed.
The Wall of Shame
Shame can cut deeper than guilt. We may feel guilty for taking the rest of the coffee without making more or running the red traffic light, but shame can be paralyzing because it can often make us feel like our souls are damaged and we are flawed beyond repair.
My primary source of shame originated as a child when my mother chose drugs and alcohol over me. The sense of not feeling wanted has haunted me most of my life. It has damaged my confidence, created feelings of panic and interfered with personal relationships. My Wall of Shame has taken an emotional toll on me.
Bringing down The Wall of Shame
It begins with you saying, it begins with me saying, “It’s wasn’t my fault.” My mother owned the decisions she made; not me. My feelings of shame were projected on me and imprisoned the child within me.
I have been moving out of this dark cave of shame for some time now. The liberation of my inner child is in place and every day I get to choose if I will let him out to savor the freedom he deserves. My intent each day is to ignore the voices in my head that tell me I am damaged and, instead, I intend to love myself a little more.
The Wall of Lies
The Lie has a singular purpose – to keep us from the Truth. The Lie tells us our shame is real and we should feel more of it. The Lie tells us we are not enough and attempts to keep God’s grace away from us.
Bringing down The Wall of Lies
It takes just one kernel of faith to re-claim our dignity. To bring down the Lie, we must replace it with the Truth. The Truth tells us we are more than enough to receive God’s love no matter the sins committed against us or the ones we have committed, but have since asked for forgiveness.
So, it begins by looking for just one pin-hole size of light while sitting in the blackness, and once we have spotted the light, we make it shine brighter by giving it more of our energy. After all, what we pay attention to grows; even in the darkness. And when it does, the light and The Truth will win every time.
The Wall of Fear
Our fear can keep us from tasting the greatest freedom our souls will ever experience. We tend to stay right where we are because it feels more comfortable; perhaps a little safer there. Fear holds us back. It delights in spreading its terror with a campaign of propaganda that insists we prefer living in fear over finding our liberation from it.
Bringing down The Wall of Fear
Learn to build a Wall of Courage instead. The enemy of our soul uses fear to create more of the same. Courage, on the other hand, is the antidote.
It can begin by confronting just one small fear at a time and then using the courage we receive in the encounter to approach even larger fears. Soon, a Wall of Courage is built and can overtake our fear with its strength and determination.
This Wall is dismantled when we no longer allow Fear to have power over us.
Savoring the Taste of Freedom
Many of my walls have existed for more than 28 years. Some were built recently and others have been a work in progress for most of my life. But just as I laid each brick in place, today I have the choice to begin breaking these walls down and using these same bricks to form a path that will take me to wherever I want to go.
Our walls can keep us from realizing the happiness that is waiting on the other side. The walls keep us sequestered and stuck in a grey, colorless place. We dodge bullets flying over our heads and cower in the shoot-to-kills zones. We dare to peek over the top of the walls to see what we are missing.
When we find our walls are no longer working for us is the day we begin to bring them down.
Once the bricks start coming down we can see other people beginning to tear down their walls, too. In a sign of unification we dance with our brothers and sisters. We step back and watch as the walls begin to topple over. A new peace fills the space they once occupied.
In 20 years I want to celebrate the walls I’m bringing down today. The Cold War that has been raging in my heart is melting and the curtain that once covered it is opening to new beginnings, to new challenges and to new love.
Start bringing down the walls in your life because they are no longer serving their purpose. Use your bare hands if necessary. Healing is on its way. Savor the freedom that is waiting on the other side.