Kay:

Well, hey there! And, welcome to Episode 94! We’re glad that you’re with us here today, because we’ve got a quote coming to you from President Dwight D. Eisenhower! And, he says, “Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.”

Shi:

Now President Eisenhower had some interesting nicknames. The “Kansas cyclone”, “Ike Duckpin”, “General Ike”…but, on a more serious note, Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States. And, the reason one of his nicknames is “General Ike” is because he actually became a five star general in the army during World War II. And so, when you hear someone with those credentials, from that generation, talking about freedom – and what that means to them – and what it takes to keep it – I think that adds some weight to it.

Kay:

Well, if I am remembering my histories correctly, I believe that General Eisenhower was one of the generals who led on the beaches of Normandy, in like – “the BIG invasion”. So, this is coming from somebody who has literally witnessed the price that some have to pay for freedom.

Shi:

When we talk about freedom, we can come at it from a lot of different dimensions. And, even as we were preparing for this episode, we were noticing our own different definitions, and stances, and viewpoints, and perspectives on freedom…which was interesting! The very first definition that comes up for freedom is, “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” So, basically, the ability to do what you want and be in charge of your own self is that broad street, sweeping, understanding of what freedom is. But, depending on how you were raised, where you were raised, and what has happened to you in your life, your definition of freedom might be a little bit different. And, the way you value freedom might be different too!

Kay:

Right? If you grew up, (and hopefully this is not your reality), but if you grew up in captivity, your definition of freedom is going to look a lot different than somebody who grew up with basic rights. So, everybody really has such a personal perspective on this. And, you know, we’ve got a fairly large international listenership on this Mentorship Quest (which we absolutely love!), but, here in America, how we define freedom as a country, is actually in our Declaration of Independence. Which states that, as humans, “all men are created equal”, but I’m going to say all humans, because that’s where we’re getting to these days! But, in the Declaration, it says, “All humans are created equal and all have the right to life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Now, we know that it’s not expressed perfectly here, but having faith in this ideal has led many great people to work to create a better world. And, it even led people like Mr. Dwight D Eisenhower to fight in order to protect these liberties!

Shi:

That just goes to show how much humanity as a collective really has this feeling of their right to freedom ingrained in us, and that we all feel in our heart of hearts, and our most “just” places, that freedom is something that we at least deserve. And, there are certainly others out there who think that some others do not deserve freedom. Plus, as Kay said, depending on where we came from or what we’ve experienced in our lives, that can look a lot different. But, one of the things that I really like about this quote from Eisenhower is that he says our individual faith and freedom can keep us free. So – I’m going to put my sociology master’s degree up on the wall here for a minute – but in my interpretation of this quote, Eisenhower is talking about the fact that we all have to actively value freedom and protect it in order to keepsafe that freedom at large. So, by becoming complacent about freedoms, by not paying attention to them, or by promoting encroachment on freedoms…it threatens the freedom of ALL, not just ourselves! But, what I really wanted to boil down in here is the three words, “faith in freedom.” And, what we know about faith is really that it’s this belief – it’s this conviction, right? It’s that I KNOW, like I know, like I know! And so, it’s this faith in freedom that keeps us free. And I think this is really the key to unlocking this quote, and understanding how it can apply to our lives and our goals.

Kay:

Well, we get down onto that faith piece, and that belief piece, and that “what do we know about our beliefs?”, and -let’s just take away the religious connotation of faith for just a second. And really think of this strictly BELIEF portion. Because, what we know about belief is that a lot of it is kind of preprogrammed inside of you. And so, how you think about what freedom is, is really determined on what you THOUGHT about what freedom is. And so, maybe your friends, and your family, and the people around you, have given you some definition of what it should be like to be free. But, maybe that’s not YOUR definition! And, oftentimes, we find ourselves working towards lives that are built for other people, and not so much for ourselves. And then, (low and behold), we end up feeling more change than we did before!

Shi:

Totally. Now, let’s remember that our quote today is from President Eisenhower, who said, “Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.” SO – that brings us to your quest for the day! Today, your quest is a physical one…You want to stand up, make yourself as BIG as you can, (we’re both doing it right now, by the way), and stretch your arms up high…Move your legs…Take up as much physical space as you can…(We know you feel stupid)…But, you can do this! While you’re here – it might feel silly – but say out loud, “I am free!” Even if it feels weird, you have just cultivated a little more faith in the fact that you are indeed FREE – whatever that means to you! Because, even just saying, “I am free”, can help you feel more of it 🙂

Kay:

To FREEDOM! And, happy questing!