Freedom of Choice

“Living above the line of choice” has been one of the themes of my yoga teacher training this week. It refers to the fine line between choosing how we respond to life and blindly reacting to it. Living above the line means choosing to relate to each moment from a place of love, compassion, and honesty, and living below it means feeling like I’m being dragged around like a rag doll, swept away by tumultuous waves of uncertainty. I’ve toggled between both positions throughout my life, as I’m sure all of us have.

As I’m reflecting on this visual of being “above or below the line of choice,” I find it extra-empowering to envision the entire thing as being within a larger reality that I AM choosing in each moment, whether I’m aware of it or not. Being above or below the line simply refers to whether I’m AWARE of my ability to choose in each moment, but I’m making a choice regardless of whether I’m responding or reacting to life. When I’m in a place of feeling disempowered, remembering “I am choosing this,” helps me to reorient to the moment in a more powerful way. I can begin choosing new thoughts, new actions, new ways of relating to myself and the world.

It is shocking and upsetting to me that we are openly debating whether or not people should have the right to choose what’s best for them in their lives. Whether we’re talking about freedom of food choice, body choice, medical choice, thought choice, or speech choice, if we are attempting to eliminate others’ rights to choose what is best for themselves, we are infringing upon their humanity. One size does not fit all, and if it did, we would have no diversity on the planet. I am not here to champion one choice over another, but to encourage all of us to return to a place of centeredness, freedom, and autonomy when we do make choices. We do not need a world of everyone choosing the same thing, but of everyone listening deeply to their inner wisdom, living above the line.

I love you, I see you, and I support the way you are navigating your reality to the best of your ability.

🧡🧡🧡