Sean Stephenson's Freedom Day
July 12th
There’s a reason why Sean tattoed the date 7/12/17 on his chest.
In our house, we called it Freedom Day because it was the date he declared his independence from a toxic relationship.
Freedom is not always instantaneous. Here’s a pic of Sean signing his Declaration of Independence related to Freedom Day in 2017 — but this was YEARS before he was able to fully break free. Oftentimes codependency and toxicity are so ingrained that they feel normal. And sometimes there is real love there too so it can be confusing to parse out what is loving and what is controlling.
Getting to the point of ending the relationship took hundreds of conversations, hours of tears, and so much frustration. So many times he’d give in, offering one more chance, only to experience the same drama play out yet again.
The hardest thing in the world for me was to watch Sean get hurt time after time, but I knew that it had to be his decision to change his circumstances.
You might think that declaring personal freedom would create a feeling of joy, but in this case, it was the opposite. While he knew he did what he had to do, there was a lot of turmoil that went with that decision. After the fact, he sat in the pouring rain in our backyard attempting to process everything he was feeling. Our friend Jamie and I sat with him (I think she took this video) not needing to say anything, just being present with his pain.
Doing the right thing for your destiny doesn’t always feel good. Other people may feel hurt by your decision. It can be traumatic and often so intense that many people wouldn’t have the courage or fortitude to go through with it. But Sean did. And out of all of his astounding successes that were visible to the world, it’s this private victory for which I was most proud of him.
I believe that we all come to this life experience with big things to do, ways in which our soul seeks to grow and develop. I also believe that we partner up with allies along the way to support the inner work we need to do. It’s not surprising then that he picked me, a freedom fighter from the start, who would stand up and defend independence at a moment’s notice.
Is there an aspect of your life that could use more freedom? Look for your allies. You are not alone in this mission. ✨