What is freedom?
For quite some time now, I’ve wondered what the answer to this question is. Many years have I spent pondering the solution and trying to find the one answer that would satisfy my quandary.
When I think of freedom, I think of it from the political sense. Thoughts of the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights and being a person living in a United State of America always come to mind at first, but the more I think about it, the more I realize it goes deeper than that.
What does it mean to be free? In my mind, it means that you can do as you please. So from there I tend to think that the definition of freedom would be something similar, maybe that you have “the freedom to do as you please,” but that still doesn’t tell us what it means to be a free man or woman. The more we look at the way the world is, the more we understand that life is what we make of it. If we are not happy with our situation, I truly believe that we can fix it. Look at all of the people that leave a horrible situation in their home land and move to a different place to make a better life for not only them, but their children. If they were able to leave their own personal hell, they were finally able to understand what freedom is all about.
Freedom isn’t something that some one can give you, it’s something that you take for yourself. Think that you are controlled by an oppressive government? Maybe it’s time to work on that. Think that you are in a relationship that is bringing you down and not letting you be the person you really could be? This is restricting your freedom! That job is so boring and it’s really starting to slow you down and keep you from being yourself! Don’t let it!
Freedom is something that you can take, if you learn to take life by the horns and do what you want. Personally, through my own experiences in life, I have found that there are many, many people out there that are out to take your freedom from you. Debt is huge! No amount of debt is worth the slavery you receive when you take it on. There is nothing more to say, other than don’t spend it, if you don’t have it.
The ability to travel around at a moments notice, with out worry is a huge freedom and it’s not just for the super wealthy elite. Take the time to see how the world is and what is going on in other neighborhoods and you won’t regret it. The knowledge you gain will both empower you and scare you. Embrace it. Groups of people that come to mind would include sailors, truck drivers, photographers, hippies living in an old school bus converted to a motor home, surfers always looking for a new place to ride a wave and retired people living in a motor home. If you don’t fit in to one of these groups, and I didn’t, find a way to bring some combination of them into your life. Just like that family escaping religious persecution and an oppressive government, you have to find freedom and live it.
I personally have been trying for some time now to become a free man. There are many people out there that have this far more under control than I do. Although, at first it may seem like they do not have things under control at all. These people are something to see. It really is an interesting thing to talk to a person who does what they want, when they want and there is no worry in their mind. I’m not saying that these people are not responsible in any way. Most hold jobs, and have houses, cars and other things normal people do, but it’s the way they do things that makes them different.
One thing that amazes me, is that most people don’t understand that freedom and happiness go hand in hand. If you are free as we have previously stated here, you will realize that there is less to stress out about, less to worry about and things in life come much easier. There is a natural tide in the world, we all have to learn to understand this. Just because we cant have something right now, doesn’t mean it’s not attainable. If we learn to have some patience we will see that life and the world will provide for us if we let it. In the mean time, we can spend much more time and effort on living in the moment,rather than worrying about the future and the past. This is a huge step to becoming a free man or woman. Being conscious of your surroundings and having a realistic grasp of your situation is key.
In my mind, being free means that you have the things you have with no guilt or debt, and you are free to do as you please as well as come and go as you please with no remorse or worry. What a life that would be.
