Freedom via generosity

There are many freedoms in our lives that we've lost track of in our conscious minds. We take them for granted because they don't change from day to day. These freedoms don't "make news of a difference" as Gregory Bateson would say. We no longer have the immediate, tangible experience of being free in these ways.

We cannot make ourselves be grateful for forgotten freedoms without those attempts at the gratitude feeling fake, contrived and manipulative. We naturally appreciate whatever increases, improves and changes for the better. We're inclined to pay attention to whatever moves us and makes constant things same different to us. We're grateful for genuine experiences of freedom.

Whenever we share freedoms we've already got, we get that we have them to give. We become conscious of them indirectly. When we give others experiences of freedom that we are able to create, it comes back around as immediate, tangible, experiences we're grateful for. When we make a difference in others' lives, we experience that difference as freedom in our own lives. It pays to be generous with our taken-for-granted freedoms. Here's some of the ways we do that easily:

• freedom by access: I'll take you there, get you inside, go there with you, show you the way to get there, walk you through the paces
• freedom by understanding: I'll clear that up for you, save you some confusion, tie it into some familiar things, give you some examples you can relate to
• freedom by expertise: I'll get that done for you, solve those problems, handle those issues, produce those results for you
• freedom by economic surplus: I'll pay for that, put it on my tab, absorb the cost, cover those expenses for you
• freedom by capability: I'll use my tools, get what we need from my inventory, call upon my support system, handle the logistics from my end for you
• freedom by savvy: I'll steer you clear of the pitfalls, forewarn you of deceptions, alert you to scams, safeguard you from rip-offs
• freedom by compatibility: I'll work with you on this, collaborate with your intentions, help you sort this out, provide a sounding board for you

When we're generous in these ways with our freedoms, our beneficiaries experience many other freedoms. They feel liberated from their worries, hassles, confusion, apprehension, despair, obstacles and limitations. They find freedom in our relating to, caring for, supporting and serving them. As we let in their experiences of freedom, we get reminded of our own freedoms that made it possible.