How free are you really? The illusion of freedom

Take a look at the two pictures hereunder, what do you see? Who do you relate to? On the left side you see a beautiful female lion that is full of confidence to move forward. She is looking to stalk her next prey, and then goes in search of her next conquest. Take a closer look at the eyes, that animal is alert, radiates power and confidence, she is ready to fight if necessary. She needs to be very strong and confident in order to survive. That is what her lion instincts tell her to do.

On the right side you see the same female lion stuck behind bars. She lies there all day, quiet and lethargic and well fed. Look at her eyes, how much fear you can detect, how she is begging for something, you can see a kind of complacency. What happened to her powerful instincts? They’re still there, deep inside, waiting to be uncaged. Let her out of the zoo and she goes lion again, preying and attacking. Put her back in the cage, she lies down.?

Research has shown that the brains of domesticated animals or animals behind bars are 15-30 per cent smaller than those of their wild counterparts.?

Let’s draw the analogy with us humans. Tell me, can you relate with the wild lion or do you feel more connected with the lion behind bars??Which of these two situations will make you feel the most free? Being free from duty or totally free to decide what you want?

Dr. Daniel Amen, one of the most famous brain disorder specialists in the US, states that people who lack exercise or eat unhealthily lose on average 85,000 brain cells a day. Consequently, it adversely affects their mental health, organs, and immune system.?

Tell me, what do you do in order to survive in this mad world of ours? Do you invest in yourself on a daily basis to stay healthy? Are you consciously training your body as well as your mind to be prepared for the unexpected? Do you surround yourself with people that are challenging you, so that are able to improve yourself every day? Are you getting up every morning being really hungry to learn, to try out new things and grow???Are you like that wild lion?

Or?

Are you like the lion in the cage? Safe, tame, predictable, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for someone to feed you because during all those years you learned to become dependent. You get up every morning doing what you always do because you have to, because somebody tells you to. You go to your work because they pay you every month, you are depending on the money. You take some pills to help you get through the day. You keep away from your family for fear of contracting a disease? Stay in the cage long enough and you forget all your basic instincts. Stay in the cage long enough and you will become mentally ill. At some point, your feeling ‘at ease’ will turn into a ‘disease’.?

The cage for humans isn’t made of steel bars, it’s made of bad advice and bullshit rules and lack of purpose and belief in your own powers. The cage is made of fear, fear to take risks, fear to step out of that comfort zone, fear to become ill, fear to speak up. Minimal expectations, minimal efforts, minimal belief in your authentic power. But you are safe in the cage. Although that is what you believe.

What if one day somebody would stop feeding you in your cage? What if one day you couldn’t count on pills anymore? What is someday the cage would open up and you need to go out in the wild? Will you be strong enough to fight? Will you be able to work through the discomfort to survive? Will you be (mentally) fit enough to do so?

In this day and age, I meet a lot of people that are stuck in a cage. Once they were wild, once they had a dream, once they were taking care of their physical and mental condition, once ……

But now they have a job, they have a house, they have pills, they rely on the social security system if something happens... They have no sense of urgency anymore to accomplish a bigger goal or to invest in themselves on a physical or mental level. And then complacency sneaks its way into people like a cancer. Instead of getting stronger, they are becoming weaker and weaker. They are becoming disconnected from their true selves.

When people become complacent, they often stop questioning themselves. Their lack of urgency leads them to run on automatic pilot without considering how they can continue to improve themselves. They get too comfortable, become less vigilant, they lose their edge. That is exactly what complacency does, it mentally pensions people off. The moment you start going to work, the moment you no longer critically evaluate what you do and why you do it, the moment you stop believing in your own strength, you invariably become less competent and even less attractive. Because that kind of attitude will be reflected in your entire being.?

From the time I was 5 years old, I was always sick. At 20, I decided to turn my life around. I decided that I could become healthy too, like so many other people. The goal of my life is to lead an abundant life. So I started adopting new habits in my life. Still to this day, 34 years down the road, I get up every morning at 5am and start my morning routine.?You can discover my entire routine that helped me build a healthy, and successful life here. https://arteel.mykajabi.com/morning-routine

Since then, I've been eating healthy and haven't taken any traditional medicine. As a result of disciplining myself and controlling my mind, I have become aware of the information I consume and the thoughts I generate. Instead of watching TV, I spend an hour a day learning new things on the power of the mind and how to further build a strong health.

As a result, I decided to create a vision for myself as a person who can make a positive contribution to society and serve humanity. After all, I finally realized that I am the one in control of my life.?

Now at the age of 54, I am very grateful to radiate so much energy and joy every day. I am so grateful to have built such a strong immune system. Was it easy? Not at all, even today it is a challenge to get up at 5am and go out in the dark for a run. Even today it is a challenge to think in a positive way when devastation comes.

But the rewards I reap are so great I'd never go back to the days when I felt miserable and sick all the time. That's true for my spouse too.?

Now I hear you thinking ‘you are just lucky’.?

A study conducted by the Belgian Itinera Institute published on July 13th, 2018 warned the government that chronic illnesses will rise by 84% by 2050 if people do not focus more on a preventive lifestyle. This is just one example. There are so many other studies that support the same conclusion.?

The choice is yours. You choose the caged life, with comfort and safety or you continue to invest in yourself and your health, so that you are strong enough to face the wildlife and be able to reap wonderful rewards. Whatever the choice is that you make, take your responsibility.?

Who do you think will be the most free? And who will be most resilient? Will you be able to survive this crazy world when a new pandemic breaks out or other problems arise??

Know that you are stronger than you think. Embrace the miracle that is your life. Your being here matters.?

Nathalie Arteel