Inspired by the love of my life, whom I get to choose every day, my wife and partner, Jade.

If you're reading these words, in all likelihood, you live in freedom. You are free to express your voice, explore your potential, and follow your heart. If you're reading these words, in all likelihood, you face challenges, sometimes daily, sometimes less frequently, but you do; it's a part of your human experience.

If you're reading these words, in all likelihood, you are in a relationship. You relate to someone other than you. You have a partner, a friend, a brother, or a sister. You probably belong to a family or a tribe. There are others around you, and if not, there are others close by.

Almost everything you experience, almost anything you get to touch, see, and explore, is a result of a conscious choice. Spiritually speaking, this life, in this human form, is an answer to your prayer. It was given to you out of your own free will and volition and as a divine gift. A divine gift that enables you to explore your celestial nature, your greatness -- your magnificent magical self. This life, as it is, was your choice. You have asked for this exact experience as it is, with all of its highs and lows.

Our challenges challenge this idea. Our hardships make this "gift," sometimes, a little hard to swallow. But please forgive me; I insist that you, in all of your power, have been choosing this experience every single step of the way. The good, the bad and the ugly. Drama is a part of the beauty of it all. And yes, I had my share of hardships, I've had my freedom taken from me, had my fair share of disease, and still... I know and understand, how, in what way, and why all that I've experienced is directly consequential to the choices I've made and the choices I'm making.

The mystics will tell you that the most powerful force in the universe is free will. That love, devoid of free will, has no color, has no flavor. Friendships formed around anything other than free will, will eventually become slavery. Caring for another out of obligation will always turn sour. Bringing a child into this world because others tell you that you should or because of unhealthy boundaries will ultimately lead to a path of pain.

And so, having these thoughts in mind, we eventually come to the conclusion that choosing our environment, our loved ones, our friends, and our family is the utmost expression of divine will and ultimate freedom. Saying 'I love you' nurtures our hearts, saying 'I Choose You' feeds our souls. Waking up every day and making a new choice, even if it is the same one. I choose to wake up next to you. I choose to look into your eyes and, once again, see your beauty and love you just as you are.

And so, holding our hearts and breathing the miraculous gift of life into our lungs, we choose to inhale and exhale. As long as these choices are ours to make, every single one carries the promise of awakening. Each single breath we breathe allows us once more to choose again. We have the free will to revisit each and every single step we have ever made. We can't change the experience, but we can choose a new and empowering meaning. We can look back and notice some choices that weren't taken in our favor, and choose again. Choose a new story. A new and different ending. If your story begun as a dramatic one, your choice today can change that tragedy into an epic, heroic, and triumphant tale of overcoming.

Look into the eyes of your beloved. See them for who they are. See in them the force of free will. Empower them with your words, actions, and your choice to choose anew. To choose love and not fear. To choose a new meaning that will empower your love story to always grow. Hold their hand and whisper into their ears, I... choose... you!

Don't be shy, tell your friends, your family, even your boss, I choose this. I want to be here. I want this experience with all of its glory. I choose again and again to wake up and walk this path I'm walking. I live by my choices and stand in total gratitude.

And if you have a prayerful spirit, look into your heart, into the skies or oceans, offer your gratitude for this life, and exclaim with utmost joy – Thank you! This is what I choose! This is what I want and pray for. I am here and awake, walking my path, choosing each and every step as I walk on this paradise I call my home.

Gratitude is a spiritual practice. It is a mystical force that brings about change. Transformation. From challenge to understanding. From fear to love. Don't just wait for this story to end; live your life in choice and embrace your free will in everything and all. 

You, my friend, truly, have a choice.