It is time for a statement. It is time to get bold. It is time to say what you must. Creating your declaration does not mean that you have to have the prose power of Thomas Jefferson. You don’t have to be eloquent. You do have to be clear. You do have to be specific. You do have to be bold.
Let’s examine Jefferson’s document that was signed 4th July 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
First off, it was unanimous. There was 100% consent and agreement. In your own declaration, you don’t have to cover every point of your life. You need to major in the majors! List off the things that your body, mind, and soul are in agreement with. I was talking with a patient that had made many lifestyle choices that hurt him. Not only had those choices created physical problems, but it always ate away at his mind that he had caused his problems which gave him a troubled soul. There was a triune agreement that this was a problem. It was unanimous.
Secondly, there is a clear statement that things are going to change. “Dissolve the political bands which have connected,” Jefferson made it clear, the colonies were exiting stage left. What once was, would no longer be. If a patient comes in and tells me every time they bang their head against the wall they get a headache, they must stop that behavior. They must no longer bang their head against the wall if they want to quit having headaches. Part of their declaration will be separation from the old ways. “Impel them to the separation,” as Jefferson said.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
Under oppression, there is no freedom. Our Creator has given us Rights. Your personal declaration needs to stand on these rights because they are “unalienable.” What does that mean? It means that NO ONE can take them away from you. They are yours. What if you have willingly given them up? Then you must stand up against that mindset of inadequacy and be bold enough to claim what is yours. The reality is you did nothing to get it. It was given to you without effort or merit. Why would you relinquish it? If you have abandoned it, all you have to do is claim it again. You can only ignore. You can never get away from your right to pursue Life, Liberty, and Happiness.
Jefferson then goes on to state the facts. You should too in what you write down. You need to list off the facts of your pain, suffering, and letdowns. You need to be clear about what actions, internal or external, will not be tolerated any longer. By doing so, you can stand against them when they come against you again. And trust me, they will.
At this point, you fall into one of three categories. You either are struck to the core because you are ready for freedom in your life. You have reached your point where you will no longer tolerate what has happened in your life. Or you have already taken action in your life and find yourself along this path. This seven-day topic is causing you to nod your head in agreement. Or you don’t get it. You don’t understand why I am covering this. If this is you, then learn this information so that you can share it with others. One thing is for sure, most people need it.
Set part of the day aside and write your own personal declaration for your independence from the oppression in your life. But be prepared because tomorrow we fight.