Freedom is a mysterious concept.
You can be free in one respect while enslaved in another. You can long for it in its absence and take it for granted when it’s near. You can’t hold it, but someone can take it from you. You can choose it, but only for your self.
So what is it?
It depends on how you’re talking about it. Living your life as you see fit will work as a definition for our purposes. We just extended a weekend to celebrate our ability as citizens of this country to do so. I spent it with my family. It was great.
Here’s what I think about freedom today.
Real freedom is frightening. It must be. Why else would we avoid it? Why would we spend so much time hemming ourselves in with small thinking and self-doubt? If we were to embrace ourselves for what we are capable of more often than we remind ourselves of what we can’t do, we might experience a different way of living.
How do I know we’re afraid of freedom? I look at the way we respond when things don’t go the way we’d like. So often we blame other people and things for our circumstances. As if we aren’t really free, as if we are subject to them. That gets us off the hook. It also gives us away. If we were really interested in freedom we’d stop looking for ways to play the victim. We’d own our part. We’d set things straight.
A scary proposition if you ask me.
There are times in my life I’ve felt more or less free.
It always comes down to a choice. It’s often a choice between something and myself.
Having the freedom to choose is a privilege. Choosing to push toward personal freedom is one option for us all. It just might not look like you thought and may require more discipline than you anticipated. That’s the thing about freedom, it requires discipline.
Which is another reason why it’s so mysterious to me.
