My Parents Died When I Was Young. Here is What I Learned
“Both my parents died when I was young,” shares Frank Watkinson, a YouTube musician, as he opens up in this episode about grief, loss, and finding hope.
I want to share with you a discovery. One that can, and most probably will, change you. It is something quiet unbelievable, and when you understand it, unlimited possibilities become available to you. It will blow your mind, but only if you are able to fully see and grasp it.
Ok, here we go: Inside of you, you have complete freedom.
Inside of you, you have the choice, to say, to do, to go, to interact with the whole world, in whichever way you want to.
I’ve heard people complaining about a lack of freedom in their life, that life is limiting them, but the simple truth is that it isn’t life that is holding them back, they are doing it completely by themselves – by the limits they impose.
When you understand the true power of the freedom you have inside of you, you will realize that there are no limits in life. Understand that, and an incredible power becomes available to you.
A power not used by many. Yet available to everyone.
“Real freedom is not what we acquire. It is what we think”
Do you actually know what an impact you can have on this world? Picture this: You are standing in the middle of a city; there are thousands of people passing you by. One after another, flashing by your eyes.
Now, every single one of those people who passes you by, you can go up to and talk with. Isn’t that mind blowing?!
Now picture this – there are 7 billion people walking on this earth. You can talk with every single one of them… unbelievable right? You have an unlimited kind of freedom within you, you can talk and interact with whoever you choose! You are free to go, to say and do anything, you are free to make an impact in this world. If you decide to.
But you can only do so when you throw off those chains, and break down those barriers that are keeping your true freedom locked away. Realize that, and you will know the importance of your life. You are the source of this world. Without you, nothing would have been here.
You are the only one who can decide whether to do something in life or not. If you never bring out the power of true freedom, no one is going to blame you, but you will miss the shot of creating and shaping this world in the way you want to.
You are allowed to free yourself, your heart is supposed to. By understanding this phenomenon, imagine all the things you can do.
Let’s go back for a moment to that exact same spot in the city. You see in the distance an interesting person walking by you, you both share a moment of eye contact. Right here is the power you have available to you, if you choose to grasp it, to use it. You have the complete freedom to walk up to that person and begin having a chat with them.
You can change the course of the world, by deciding to set yourself free. How many times has it happened to you that you wanted to go up to someone or you wanted to do something but you didn’t, simply because you didn’t take any action. You didn’t use the power of the freedom you have.
Why?
A lack of courage I imagine you’re thinking. That is true, you only become free, when you have the courage to face your fears.
Life is a challenge, filled with obstacles everywhere, but instead of seeing them as obstacles look at them as challenges and see the possibilities that open up simply by having the right mind set.
“The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.”
Life is a playground. The whole world is your platform on which you can practice, try things out. Every person, every single place in the world are there for you to interact with.
Can you see what it means that “true freedom is inside of you”?
We are all trying to find the path to happiness. We all simply want to be happy, and we all have the right to be. There are many different things that trigger happiness in us, yet a statement that will keep on bringing it to you is freedom.
If you are free, free in your mind, you are happy as well. You are free to do anything, you are free to be happy. And that freedom, lies within you, waiting for you, waiting for the day you decide to bring it out. And that day, can be today.
Working on yourself can be scary, overwhelming, confusing, messy, challenging, and lonely. On this podcast, hosted by Jellis Vaes, an aspiring clinical psychologist who once battled severe emotional struggles, you’ll gain valuable insights from experts in psychology, neuroscience, and relationships, as well as people like you and me, to support you on your mental health journey, help you feel less alone, and untangle some of the complexity of mental health.
For more support, visit Inner Path Seekers.
Show notes can be found here:https://theipsproject.com/2026/04/reason-we-stay-addicted-kevin-cornelius/
Addiction is complex, deeply human, and often misunderstood.
In this episode, we take a grounded and practical look at what addiction really is and how it can be treated effectively.
I’m joined by Kevin Cornelius, a licensed marriage and family therapist and clinical director at the Feeling Good Institute Silicon Valley.
Kevin specializes in TEAM-CBT, a powerful and evolving therapeutic approach developed by psychiatrist David Burns.
What I am hoping you get out of this episode, besides learning some of the reasons why people stay addicted, is that you will learn some practical techniques to start taking a small step toward freeing yourself from whichever addiction you might be struggling with.
If, after this episode, you’d like to learn more about the effects addiction has on the brain, do have a listen to the episode I did with Dr. Grisel, titled The Brain on Addiction.
📚The IPS Academy📚
If you feel that you’ve gained some insights and lessons from this video, and you are curious to see what else we offer at The IPS Project, check out The IPS Academy, where we offer online courses taught by guests here on the podcast.
Simply go to https://theipsproject.com/academy. Each course has a few lessons to try for free, so you get a taste of what the course is like. We have countless reviews from other students so you can see what others think, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you end up not liking the course.
Again, check them out at https://theipsproject.com/academy
“Both my parents died when I was young,” shares Frank Watkinson, a YouTube musician, as he opens up in this episode about grief, loss, and finding hope.
Anything takes time to get done and see accomplished. Patience, fused and balanced together with hard work, they are the key.
Dr. Martin Inderbitzin, a neuroscientist and cancer survivor, and Jellis Vaes, a therapist and cardiac arrest survivor, share lessons about life and death.