Freedom is a recurring theme in this city. It rings from monuments and street names and encourages travel from near and far. It was heard in the rallying cries of Confederate soldiers and in the painful cries of slaves aching for freedom from a land that tethered them to a life of bondage. Freedom as purpose and freedom as motivation have persisted to this very day. And yet, its very elusiveness has bound irascible inequalities to our lives that threaten the very future we all strive to achieve.
You may be wondering why freedom weighs on our minds when it is food you long to discuss. Why is freedom the basis for an argument about health and wellness that trumps any other discussion we could bring to you at this moment in time?
I ask, why not? Why not this discussion about restriction versus unconstrained consumption that endangers ourselves and the Earth? Why should we not turn the spotlight on an unjust interpretation of human nature that has been constructed around desire and determinism instead of peace and mindful intention.
Freedom is the mighty ideal upon which this country was built and it continues as the bounty for which we all strive, yet every day we make decisions that bind us to disease and destruction that impacts our own environments and ravages our bodies.
To be born Black is to be born a symbol as well as an individual. Much like Dubois’s double consciousness, it is a fate ever entwined with history and, if enough attention paid, endowed with a roadmap for the future. It means constantly looking at the world through a hazy lens that provides two ways of seeing what lay in front of you. In my very DNA is the impetus towards freedom that means immeasurable reward, but it requires breaking free of the desires that keep my body weighed down, too sickly to strive beyond survival.
To thrive we must heal; to prosper, we must sacrifice. Only then will health become the baseline upon which we can all grow our lives, grow our families, and grow our country to reflect the symbol upon which it was built.
This 4th of July, remember who you are: your Spirit shines with worth and power unimaginable. The care given to your body must encompass your every day choices about what you eat, how you speak, and where your mind chooses to travel. Only then will we experience the freedom that is our birthright.
Only then will we live free.