Thought for today:
"When the 13th century Scottish warrior, William Wallace was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and was handed over to King Edward 1st of England, the king had him publicly hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason. Mel Gibson depicted William Wallace in the 1995 film 'Braveheart' and used his last breath to cry out loudly the word, 'Free......dom'.
All rules, by their very nature, constrain one's actions and therefore, some might argue that 'sleeping' is the only time to feel real freedom because where dreams are concerned there are are no rules. In our dreams, we often find ourselves running without destination and it is only when we move in such fashion, can we truly taste what 'freedom' is.
Most of us would like to believe that we are free, when in essence, merely to have a set of beliefs that we live by shackles us to what we believe. It matters not whether it is a belief in a God, belief in another person, the belief in a way of life, a set of immutable scientific laws or the practice of a specific range of principles. Whatever our beliefs are, essentially influences and defines us, and governs our overall behaviour.
As the youngest British trade union shop steward in textiles at the age of 18 years, I soon learned that the freedoms we wanted in the work place would never willingly be given to us by the bosses; and that if we wanted such freedoms from the oppressors, the oppressed would need to demand them! I quickly learned that we are all free until or unless we give that freedom up.
One of the good things about Brexit has been that people find themselves with more freedom to voice their genuine views today without automatically being considered a person who does not respect the right of others to express theirs. Some may think it strange that I support the central core values of Brexit, especially as I am a Southern Irish citizen who never sought nationalisation in England since I arrived in this country as a child, seventy years ago. Consequently, I am no different than all the other current Europeans that are living here and could possibly be sent back home with them; yet I still voted for Brexit! Why? you might ask. Because, I love this country and above all other considerations, I genuinely want Great Britain to get back its freedom to control its own borders, currency and laws! It is an ironic fact, but those who are quick to deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
Growing up on a council estate, I learned very early in life that while liberty is the right to choose, and it is 'freedom' which is the result of that choice. I chose as an estate resident to live by the area code and I later learned that such a code was worthy of living by. Learning that one's word was one's bond, never complaining when getting caught in the act or trying to justify one's unacceptable behaviour were community 'no-nos.' If one did something wrong and got caught out, one admitted the wrong and took one's punishment without quarrel.
During my later life, I married three times. On the first occasion, despite the marriage being very unhappy, I tried to do everything possible to stay with it. When it eventually became impossible to any longer ignore my wife's requests to leave her as she no longer wished to be married, and I did so, I'd only been gone an hour when I felt the chains of oppression to have been cast from me. For the first time in thirteen years, I felt free having flown from the captivity of my marital cage. And having attained that freedom, nothing in the world would have induced me to relinquish such freedom ever again!
Instead of making excuses for the behaviour of myself and wife, I started to face the truth of our situation and to get on and make a new life. It was at that moment that it dawned on me that we are all free to yield to the truth and that a person who feels free to say everything that is in their heart is capable of doing anything with their remaining life." William Forde: March 13th, 2017.
"When the 13th century Scottish warrior, William Wallace was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and was handed over to King Edward 1st of England, the king had him publicly hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason. Mel Gibson depicted William Wallace in the 1995 film 'Braveheart' and used his last breath to cry out loudly the word, 'Free......dom'.
All rules, by their very nature, constrain one's actions and therefore, some might argue that 'sleeping' is the only time to feel real freedom because where dreams are concerned there are are no rules. In our dreams, we often find ourselves running without destination and it is only when we move in such fashion, can we truly taste what 'freedom' is.
Most of us would like to believe that we are free, when in essence, merely to have a set of beliefs that we live by shackles us to what we believe. It matters not whether it is a belief in a God, belief in another person, the belief in a way of life, a set of immutable scientific laws or the practice of a specific range of principles. Whatever our beliefs are, essentially influences and defines us, and governs our overall behaviour.
As the youngest British trade union shop steward in textiles at the age of 18 years, I soon learned that the freedoms we wanted in the work place would never willingly be given to us by the bosses; and that if we wanted such freedoms from the oppressors, the oppressed would need to demand them! I quickly learned that we are all free until or unless we give that freedom up.
One of the good things about Brexit has been that people find themselves with more freedom to voice their genuine views today without automatically being considered a person who does not respect the right of others to express theirs. Some may think it strange that I support the central core values of Brexit, especially as I am a Southern Irish citizen who never sought nationalisation in England since I arrived in this country as a child, seventy years ago. Consequently, I am no different than all the other current Europeans that are living here and could possibly be sent back home with them; yet I still voted for Brexit! Why? you might ask. Because, I love this country and above all other considerations, I genuinely want Great Britain to get back its freedom to control its own borders, currency and laws! It is an ironic fact, but those who are quick to deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
Growing up on a council estate, I learned very early in life that while liberty is the right to choose, and it is 'freedom' which is the result of that choice. I chose as an estate resident to live by the area code and I later learned that such a code was worthy of living by. Learning that one's word was one's bond, never complaining when getting caught in the act or trying to justify one's unacceptable behaviour were community 'no-nos.' If one did something wrong and got caught out, one admitted the wrong and took one's punishment without quarrel.
During my later life, I married three times. On the first occasion, despite the marriage being very unhappy, I tried to do everything possible to stay with it. When it eventually became impossible to any longer ignore my wife's requests to leave her as she no longer wished to be married, and I did so, I'd only been gone an hour when I felt the chains of oppression to have been cast from me. For the first time in thirteen years, I felt free having flown from the captivity of my marital cage. And having attained that freedom, nothing in the world would have induced me to relinquish such freedom ever again!
Instead of making excuses for the behaviour of myself and wife, I started to face the truth of our situation and to get on and make a new life. It was at that moment that it dawned on me that we are all free to yield to the truth and that a person who feels free to say everything that is in their heart is capable of doing anything with their remaining life." William Forde: March 13th, 2017.
