Freedom has a price

Robert Holt ~ July 28, 2010

During the month of July, we Americans get the opportunity to celebrate the birth of what I consider the greatest country in the world. There are some great countries to visit, but like Dorothy, I too believe that there is no place like home – the land of the free and the brave!
July also offers me the chance to mark another year in the annals of time as I celebrate my birthday. Because of these two birthdays, I am provided with the opportunity to reflect on two powerful and all-encompassing subjects, time and freedom. In this article I will only have time to skim the surface of each while trying to weave the subjects together so that it relates to real estate and the current state of affairs in our economy.
Time, as Einstein has taught us, is relative, at least in its bigger sense. Doing something you enjoy creates a mental environment where time seems to “fly” by. Of course, the opposite of this is true as well. While we acknowledge the relativity of time, we also recognize that time is finite. We only have so much of it and with each passing day, we are closer to not having any more of it. We are born, we live, and we die. As a result, what we do with our time is very important.
As for freedom, it is the birthright of all human beings and the reason our founding fathers made sure that it must form the basis of the Constitution of the United States, as reflected in the Bill of Rights. Patrick Henry's immortal utterance during the American Revolution says it all: "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
This type of freedom covers many aspects of life, such as political independence, civil rights, and the exercise of free will.
Freedom however, is a broad concept that can be difficult to define. Most people equate freedom with personal choice, which means that one has the ability on some level to shape his/her own future or "destiny.”
As you know, there is more than one kind of freedom. There is the external type that we experience in this country and there is the kind that is internal. Internal freedom revolves around the freeing of one's self from the ego and the nonsense that is created in our minds.
I started dwelling on how internal freedom and time are interrelated after spending many hours talking to hundreds of individuals and families who are in some very challenging circumstances. Through the course of our day, we see the carnage and financial ruin so many in Phoenix are experiencing. We witness first hand the debilitating effects the economic and real estate down turn is having on families throughout the valley. It is heart breaking to watch grown men and women cry tears of sorrow and defeat as they describe to me their story of how they ended up in financial distress. Despite the age of the homeowner, whether in their early 20s or late 70s all the stories are eerily similar. All of the people have lost a great deal and most are on the verge of losing their home as well. No matter what the circumstances, the one thing all of these people share in common is that they have also lost time and freedom.
We lose our inner freedom when the things we own actually end up owning us. Unfortunately, that is the case for most homeowners today as many are straddled with a mortgage they cannot afford on a home worth half what they owe. As a result, families are choking on the American dream. The home that was purchased with the hope that it would offer shelter and perhaps prove to be a good investment vehicle has now become a 600 pound gorilla on the back of the homeowner.
Even those homeowners that can manage the payment are realizing that it might not be worth it. Many are beginning to understand that continuing to pay on a home that is 50 percent underwater is futile. After all, the cost of anything is equal to the time it takes us to obtain it. Wisdom tells us that when we allocate a great deal of our energy in the pursuit of obtaining material goods, we lose our most precious commodity, which is of course, time.
However, as the paradigm continues to shift in our society, more people are beginning to recognize the importance of both freedom and time and how we lose both when we are drowning in debt. Perhaps this deeper appreciation will be the good that comes from this economic and real estate downturn. After all, the people that I know (my parents being some of them) that were kids during the Great Depression, are some of the most responsible individuals I have ever come across. Sometimes it takes a cataclysmic event to wake us up to deeper truths. This is especially true in a society where we are conditioned from birth to spend, spend, and spend some more on things we usually do not need.
For most of us, this period will be life changing. For those that are wise enough to use it as a tool by which to learn and grow, it might well be one of the best things that could have occurred as it will lead to wisdom. If we can begin to grasp that, the path to freedom is freedom from attachment, then we will see that our bonds are bonds of the mind. As soon as we believe that something or someone outside of ourselves can make us happy, we have enslaved ourselves to that attachment. When we cut those bonds of attachment, we become free.
There is no better time to learn the lessons these events are teaching. I encourage anyone who is facing financial challenges to be proactive and take the steps necessary to put yourself in a better position. Certainly, you can be "rich" even if you don't have much money: Rich in family, friends, generosity, spirit, even love. These are attributes we would all be lucky to experience and are the things that make life worth living. However, if you are buried in debt and spending all of your time working to pay for “things,” there is no freedom.
However, be forewarned that any movement toward freedom must also be a movement toward responsibility. True freedom doesn't just mean living in a "free" country. Freedom means taking responsibility for our lives and not playing the victim. This type of freedom means having the courage to disconnect from all thoughts of anyone else being responsible for your current situation. Maybe as we each learn this lesson, we as a country will be better off. Robert Holt, CDPE/SFR & Phil Mills, CDPE/SFR of The [HOLT] Group, RE/MAX Sonoran Hills. For informatione visit www.TheHoltGroupAZ.com or call 623-748-9583 and tell us your thoughts.