How We Enslave Ourselves

I don’t want to be a slave, but I am
I don’t even know all the
ways I’m enslaved
Freedom is the answer
but what does freedom
from slavery actually mean?

Let’s start with the history of slavery in our world.

Slavery has been around for thousands of years. As long ago as 6800 BCE, as it is recorded in Mesopotamia, those captured in wars were forced to work by their captors. Egyptians captured slaves back in 2575 BCE and slaves were part of their everyday culture. In 500 AD, Anglo-Saxons enslaved the native Britons after invading England. Slavery became a normal practice in England’s agricultural economy.

In 1526 AD Spanish explorers brought the first African slaves to what would become the United States. Massachusetts became the first British colony to legalize slavery.

Many of our ancestors were slaves and many of them were slave holders. And there is slavery all around the world to this day. A lot of it is in the areas of sex trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage and forced use of child soldiers.

Currently, in America, more than 10 states have constitutions that explicitly permit some kind of slavery as punishment for a crime. Legislators in these states have been stubborn in letting go of this toxic wording.

Incredulously, this is Section I of our Thirteenth Amendment which blessedly freed Black slaves in 1865: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

Slavery is inhumane and is one of many examples of an evolutionary stage of our human development. Today, no country in the world permits one person legally to own another person. There has been progress, however this holy evolutionary process is far from its optimal landing place.

Ironically, what I have written above is not our primary focus today…except, in an essential way, it actually is.

Slavery is all about the loss of freedom to a more powerful entity. A slave is no longer an equal human being. She is treated as if she has no soul and we know, the soul is the essence of each and every one of us.

Once people are treated as soulless, anything is possible, as history graphically reveals. Whippings, lynchings, shackles and chains, torture, buying and selling. It is truly remarkable that so much soulful music was sung during this oppressive era. One of the most loved Gospel songs was and still is, “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.” It speaks to all of us.

Here are a few of its memorable lyrics:

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see
Coming for to carry me home
A band of angels coming after me
Coming for to carry me home

I’m sometimes up and sometimes down
Coming for to carry me home
But still my soul feels heavenly bound
Coming for to carry me home

Our soul is our Light and fiercely yearns to shine regardless of any and all attempts to repress it.

What does all this have to do with you and me…today?

Each one of us has a soul that joined us at birth. It is our very essence. The more we listen to it and follow it, the closer and closer we become to being the best human being we came here to be. It is a lifetime journey. Many say it’s our mission.

Each one of us willingly, but not always consciously, enslaves ourselves with our own limiting thoughts, actions and inactions. For instance:

My dream is to (fill in the blank), but I’m too afraid to follow my dream.
I should really apologize to (fill in the blank) for what I said, but I hate to apologize…and they deserved it anyway.
My negative thoughts are overbearing but I won’t/don’t seek out healthy ways to calm them down.
I know I should exercise much more but when? I’m sooo busy.

Each of us has our own deft ways to enslave our highest wisdoms, values and dreams. They ache to be released and we ache with them, in ways we don’t always realize.

A dear friend told me recently he had forgiven a close family member who he believed deeply wronged him. It took over 30 years to let go, but he told me he immediately felt a life-changing release.

Souls require our endless courage and dedicated, daily efforts in order for us to become who we know we truly are.

I’m sometimes up and sometimes down
But still my soul feels heavenly bound
Coming for to carry me home

Freedom!

– Burt Gershater is a counselor, leadership trainer, speaker and writer. He can be reached at info@burtgershater.com.

This article appears in Source Weekly August 3rd, 2023.