These two words mean absolutely everything to me. They are everything that my grandmother was, and they are everything that I have always wanted to be.

Elegantly Free

Freedom: to be, without shackles or barriers that hold you back

Elegance: to be, in your most authentic form, perfect by design

How can two words work together so perfectly? I would challenge that to be elegant is the same as being free because you are the most elegant when you are free from the cares of the world and others. You exude elegance when you are 100% your authentic self, not seeking to please others or the world. I would dare say that there is freedom in elegance because even though society calls elegance a style, it’s so much more than that. It is a state of being. Likewise, freedom is also a state of being.

We can feel trapped when we are free as bird. Why? Because it’s a metaphor. It’s a state of being: physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. You can be free physically but not emotionally. That is why mental illness and struggles seem invisible. They are unseeable, but their effects are not.

You may disagree, but I firmly believe that everyone wants to be free. We all have things that confine us and keep us from being who we want to be, were meant to be, and try to be. Until we break free from the barriers that keep us from being real and true to who we are, we will lack the elegance of freedom. Unfortunately, some people are bound by physical shackles that they cannot control; however, we are all at risk of being bound by shackles that confine us mentally, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. You can be free in one area, but if you are not free in all areas, then are you truly free?

Freedom doesn’t always look radical, patriotic, or whimsical. Freedom from one thing can look like that, but freedom in all areas of your life looks absolutely elegant. It creates a demeanor that is confident with pridefulness, an ora that speaks truth with purpose and pure intentions.

My wish for all of you is that you be elegant and free.

-L