Saturday, August 05, 2006

My Philosophy of Freedom

Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles. – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Time and time again, I’ve asked myself the question of ‘ultimate freedom’. Freedom, the word that only exists in one’s mind but never fully comprehend the meaning or definition to that very word.

Time and time again I tried finding a way to explain my philosophy of ‘freedom’ but ended up being misunderstood. Freedom to me doesn’t exist the way I thought it will exist. Freedom to me is an illusion that needs to be lived within.

I tried hard never to use the word ‘freedom’ liberally in my everyday conversation. Liberality and freedom are two very different words and both hold ultimate meanings which one can only comprehend after experiencing them. You may not like my way of defining both terms, but I hold liable to my own opinions.

Liberality, to me, is the ability to choose what one can, should, would, can’t, shouldn’t or wouldn’t do. Freedom, to me, is something where one can only earn it when one’s heart has stopped beating, mind has ceased to think, soul has been taken away from the body, and spirit has left the body for eternity. Freedom, then, comes with no consequences; no guilt; no obstacles; no choices; and with no directions.

We hold on to various grudges in life in order to understand how feelings are generated through good and bad experiences. The malicious attitude we hold in order to see our own happiness in the eyes of the one we wish to hurt. One can argue that it is the freedom of the mind, body and soul to feel that way. Well, we always have the choice to either be malicious in everyway or just be genuine. Now, how can that be free? We are obliged to a universal rule, which is the rule of choice. When we are obliged to a certain rule, freedom doesn’t come into play then. We might have the ‘freedom’ to choose, but again, we are chained with choices of either… or. My point is that besides of using the word ‘freedom’, I choose to use the word ‘liberation’.

We need to conform ourselves to various ‘rule’ in life. The ‘rule’ of how to live life; the ‘rule’ of how to think, learn and educate; the ‘rule’ of how to differentiate between right and wrong; and the ‘rule’ of choosing the ones of the right than of the wrong. We are never free from the life of changes; of choices; of conformation; and of subjection. It’s a life cycle process where one can never escape the fundamentals of it. I might say, we have the liberation to choose the way we want to live or consume various discourses but never free from the ‘rule of choice’.

{Try getting out to an open field, sleep on the grass and make sure you are in an immobile position for as long as you want. Whatever you do, do not think. Keep a blank mind. All you are allowed to do is to inhale and exhale… now you get to enjoy the moment of being free}

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