Photo by Exfordy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exfordy/

Here’s what I know to be true – a liberated life includes a healthy dose of reflection.

We’re entering the perfect time of year to look in the rear view mirror, with days growing shorter and colder for most of us. (Well, not those of you in the Southern Hemisphere!)

So as we head into this last month of the year, I invite you to reflect back on 2011:

• What do you feel has shifted the most for you?

• Are there places in your life where you experience more freedom than you did at the start of the year?

I haven’t yet fully wrapped my own mind and heart around these questions, so I plan to take some time to do that in these last few weeks of December. But I do know that elephants will play some role in the answer. Hence my choice of this week’s photo!

I also asked these questions to friends on Facebook, and here are some responses:

In 2011, I have learned what the unconditional “yes” means and have begun to apply it in some of the ruddiest areas of my life. Because of this, I have begun to make changes in areas of my life that truly need change – like going back to school – basically I’m beginning again. I am freer from feeling constrained and stifled by the pain of the past, and I know I am walking down a solid path hopefully to greater freedom. (Madeliene Bolden)

Walking through portals to the unknown and feeling good about no quick answers. (Cinny Green)

The closer I get to death, the freer I feel. (Mushim Ikeda-Nash)

I have spent the last few years trying to un-do worrying and stressing over things. Tied in with this is realizing that there is a whole universe outside of the little box we (American culture) have been conditioned to live in. (Robert McCormick)

This morning, for the first time, I finally HEARD myself verbally reinforcing a super-negative belief about my health. Thank you for growing self awareness!!! Reframe… reframe and reframe. (Marike van Breugel)

I have learned that the earth still rotates when I take time to look after my health (serious chronic health issues). :))) It is very freeing to finally be able to say “not today”, “perhaps some other time”, “not this year”, “sorry, I’m not available”, or something alone those lines without feeling as if I have to explain my reasons. It has taken a long time for me to get to this point. It’s never perfect, but it’s definitely progress. (Janet D Jung)

It’s hard to say what shifted the most for me since my whole life had undergone a radical transformation. at the start of the year I was still living in California, spitting distance from the town I great up in, working for a mega-corp, and desperately trying to figure out how to change my life. In the last 12 months I moved to Santa Fe and quit the job, changing pretty much everything in my life. I had dubbed 2010 the year that everything changed but nothing changed. 2011 was definitely the year that changed everything and everything changed. I look forward to seeing what 2012 will bring. (Lauren Iuppa Ayer)

I love hearing these stories of liberation! And I send a deep bow to all of these folks and salute their courage in looking deeply at their lives and, in many cases, making big changes.

How about you? Where have you found freedom this past year? Leave a comment below, or if you’re reading this by email make sure to visit the post online so you can comment.

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