Edmund Burke said, “Slavery is a weed that grows on every soil”. I have already written about slavery many times, and talked about its meaning, which is obviously the loss of liberty, but what I have not yet mentioned is that slavery does not come about just from tyranny. In today’s world, people are enslaved by more than just the government. As Burke’s quote said, it grows on every soil. His analogy doesn’t only apply to where slavery is, it applies to what it is… a weed. No matter what you do or what you try to surround yourselves with, there will always be something that can enslave you, and you can’t stop that, but it is your choice as to whether or not that thing will enslave you. There are so many things that distract from the more important aspects of life, and if you allow these things to dictate how you live your life, you’ve allowed them to make you their slave. It is devastating to see that so many lives are ruined because people allow something so small and seemingly innocent to control their entire lives. Fortunately, we have the power to choose how we will live our lives! If we don’t want to let an object, or a tyrant, to make us slaves, we don’t have to. We have the power to say no to the tyrant or whatever is threatening our liberty, even if others tell us to say yes. We have the power to say yes to those good and honorable things that will bless our lives, even if the tyrant tells us to say no. We control our own lives no matter what stands in our way. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t stop something from controlling you. The only way to truly be controlled is to accept that you are giving up power, you must be willing to give yourself up to the things that seek to distract you or to enslave you. People will always say it doesn’t matter what you do, that everyone is addicted to this or that, which is false. You have a say in what possesses your mind. All you need is the knowledge and willpower to only give yourself to what is right. There are books filled with teachings that say you will be blessed if you do so, despite what the world says, because liberty is something far greater than anything the world can offer you, you might just have to work to see it.