One of the goals of self-coaching to come to freedom from our emotional world, brings us to the role of enjoyment in our lives. This is joie de vivre. Allow me to illustrate this with a story.

You know that feeling of being free, like a bird in the sky? A bird that flies over the fields and sings a song high in the trees. Whistles, as free as a bird. What a wonderful feeling.

Have you ever had this? Think about it, when do you feel most free?

I feel free when I stand high on a mountain and from there I can see the whole world. I feel free when I am all alone at home with my kitten. And I can pet her all I want, because she never gets tired of it. I feel free when I'm riding my bike through the fields, and I can ride as fast as I want, let myself go while going downhill and shaving in the corners. I feel free when in the ocean, not far from the beach, I can let myself go on the waves of the high tide. When I'm in Africa. The sea is so warm and the waves are high like houses. They take me wherever they want. And for a moment I dream completely away.

Where am I? Hey? Yes correct. My tummy and my body are itching with pleasure. This must be the land of freedom.

In the land of freedom you will find the sky. The wind is free, my son says, because it goes where it pleases. You can't get him. But it does refresh you when you're hot.

In the land of freedom you will find water. The water goes where it wants. It slips through your hands when you want to hold it. But how refreshing it is when you are thirsty.

In the land of freedom there is sand, as much as all the deserts combined. The pellets tickle between your toes. They are so fine you can't grab them. And there are beaches everywhere where you can relax, where the fruit is juicy and sweet like nowhere else, where people are happy and beautiful, where everyone has time for each other. The people are having fun, they laugh and laugh, and laugh.

Then the sun takes you to the dreamland, far away. And deep in your sleep you are happy. You smile in your heart, your whole body smiles. Dream softly, says the fairy of the evening sun. Tomorrow is a new day. And with my wand I will conjure it for you. Dream softly because tomorrow will be a beautiful day.

Being free is beautiful. Yet I hear you say: “We are not free at all. We're really not free to do what we want." That's right. I always wonder why that freedom is so often taken away from us? Is this always necessary?

As a child and an adolescent I have to listen to what other people tell me to do. As an adult, I have to listen to what my boss at work wants me to do. Does this mean we are not free? We often think: When I'm free, I can say what I think, what I want, where I want to go, what I don't want and what I don't like. But being free is above all enjoying all the beauty that surrounds us.

I often experience beautiful things with my children. They make me believe that feeling truly free has everything to do with being happy. In moments of pure happiness we feel really free. We are not stressed. We are not rushed by time. We don't care if this moment lasts forever.

We were once on a family trip in Crete. They were wonderful moments. Everything we experienced set us free. We felt happy. The boat trip we took to another part of the island was the real highlight. We have been on the road all day, facing the adventure. Our view of the sea and the island was so stunning that we couldn't shut up about it. Half way the boat stopped and we could snorkel. My eldest son took the risk and was able to enjoy the beautiful fish in the sea. His experience was indescribable. When the boat moved up again, he thoroughly enjoyed the tranquility that the sea afforded him. His youngest brother sat quietly next to him for a while.

When we were halfway through our journey, the youngest let his heart speak. “Daddy”, he said, “Crete is exactly paradise. I want to stay here forever. I want to live here and will learn English to go to school.”

I confirmed my son's dream. Living in Crete would be a dream for the whole family. My eldest son did smile a bit and let it slip from between his teeth to the youngest, noting that he should also learn and use the Greek alphabet. My oldest and I smiled at each other. A wink from me, and the fun couldn't stop for him.

Freedom is enjoying what life has to offer us, enjoying the beautiful. That can be a dream trip, but also the simple, little things in life. Simple things make us happy, liberate our hearts. That is why I have the habit of expressing our thanks to each other every evening with my children for the beauty of the day.

My oldest son always starts by saying thank you for going to school. He knows that there are children in the world who do not have this opportunity. My youngest son opens with the fact that he has learned something new. He is very eager to learn. And then they take some highlights from their day. I myself then end by impressing upon them that for me the most beautiful thing of all is when I am together with my children and wife. And then I tell them I love to see you. Please see and really feel that in your heart, this makes a person free, opens your heart completely to everything that is beautiful in this world.

It is liberating to thank the day for all that has set you free in the past 24 hours.

You see, freedom can simply be choosing to enjoy the ordinary everyday things. For some people, that choice is quite a challenge because they dream of a great future. They want to become a whopper that everyone looks up to.

Big dreams are beautiful. Don't let anyone take those dreams away from you. You are free as long as you can still dream.

Free people are beautiful people. They make the world more beautiful because they make people more beautiful. They also make themselves more beautiful. They pass their torch of freedom on to other people. And those people pass the torch on to new people. Thus free people form a chain. You are never free on your own.

Do not you believe me? Close your eyes. Now think of some of the most beautiful moments in your life, moments that have given you deep happiness. You felt completely free. You see, you have had these beautiful moments with other people, never on your own. And even if the most beautiful moment of your life is being all alone on the top of a mountain, you never got there completely on your own. You need people for everything you do. If you eat a delicious gingerbread in the morning, then that is only possible because the bakery has prepared it with great love for you in the early hours of the morning.

Look around you with admiration at free men and learn from them. Let it sink in and take that torch of freedom. Pass it on to others. Because you can. Anyone can do it.

We don't need big do-gooders to make the world a better place. Every free person who shares the joy of life with others is a better person and radiates this. Free people have something good. They teach us that we can trust each other in that chain of freedom. We meet people every day, we live together with people who only hope for the best for us, who do everything they can to give joy of life a central value in our existence.

Do-gooders are not people who have accomplished something great on their own. They are the simple champions at building that chain of joie de vivre that connects people. They want to make as many people as possible happy with each other, make them experience the happiness that we can all become free people. Each of us who becomes free will be a better person for ourselves, for the other, for the planet. And above all: enjoy the many beautiful, small and large things that the days have to offer us.