“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”
-Voltaire
If you ask me, the feeling of freedom is an essential feeling for the human species. Nothing compares with freedom and nothing can be put over it. We are born free and we will die free, or at least this should be the case.
I thought about freedom and what it represents, but mostly at what we think is freedom. My conclusion was that we define it in a vague and superficial way and we don’t fully understand what would mean to be truly free. It is hard to imagine freedom in the true sense of it because, like it or not, freedom is conditioned. It all starts in childhood: We are conditioned to follow the rules imposed by those trying to educate us, usually with good intentions and the freedom to play, dance, sing, scream, express ourselves, cry, have frustrations, choose, is lost or it becomes the result of an emotional blackmail. Seems a bit too harsh? I do not think so, after all, this is the reality. Then we continue with school, where most of the times we do not have the freedom to choose what we want to study, because again, the adults know what is best for us… better than us?! Immediately after finishing high school, we go to college, because it is “normal” and otherwise, surely we will become losers, because, the university defines you and will guide your footsteps towards a bright future and a successful career. This is the saying right? If you don’t go to college… you are in big trouble! You’ll regret it all your life! Good. Then, after you’ve built an “impressive” career you have to start a family, really… otherwise you will miss life again, for the umpteenth time… and it’s a shame.
All mentioned above sounds so natural and doesn’t seem to cut our freedom at all, but somehow I cannot think of the few people who are defying these rules and are successfully building fulfilling lives. They are most often the ones who choose to step out of the system, they are those who had the courage to say no to “normal” things and built their own natural ways of living; they have their own picture about life, about who they are and who will be in future. These are the people who understand that freedom is not found in doing something because it should be done or because they know someone who did it successfully, but in doing something for fun, pure and simple. So what is the freedom to choose who you want to be, if we do nothing but to follow some patterns, seemingly safe? These patterns removes us from our true nature and deceive us so much that we forget what world we live in and we forget who we really are. I do not mean that following a certain pattern is a bad thing, but before you do it, think if you are the one who wants it or you just do it because it seems a good idea that others have tested with success. You might not have success in the movie you choose, just because it’s not for you… or who knows… maybe you’re lucky.
Lately I’ve heard all kinds of stories on freedom of expression, which seen from far, might look respected and even encouraged, of course, as long as it doesn’t alter the perception of masses of people and does not affect the “proper functioning of things” . Usually if you have neutral opinions, with no personality in them, that fit into the pattern accepted by society and by those who believe they run over us, you are doing great, you are not bothering anyone and on top of that you’re easily fooled. We call this freedom of expression!
If you could express what you think and add new value to those around you, but through unconventional methods and you manage to awake to life many people, immediately someone will put you up against the wall and silence your beautiful voice …and examples are thousands. They are afraid of losing their “power”. Let’s face it; the “strong ones” will take care of not losing their credibility, comfort and power upon the masses. But you know why this happens? Because there are just so few people who have the courage to speak and point their finger to the hidden things under the carpet, there are just a few who see beyond the 5 o’clock news. The good thing is that every day that passes brings extra people who notice that how we live our lives cannot be sustained for too long … and they wake up … and they get brave… and they talk … and they join forces … and change the world! They wake up not because they are particularly intelligent but because they cannot otherwise live …and how we live now has nothing to do with the possibility of finding happiness but better, it seems a struggle to not lose it, in case we ever found it.
Today it’s the perfect time to accept ourselves just as we are and to demand the right to freedom, the freedom to choose what we want to do, the freedom of not having jobs that we hate, the freedom to laugh out loud even if it’s not proper, the freedom to cry if we are hurt even if the world tells us to be strong , the freedom to choose where to live, when to work and when to rest, the freedom to say yes or not, the freedom to give free rein to our imagination, the freedom to dress how we want, to have freedom ideals that others have not touched yet, the freedom to return to us, easy and simple! That means freedom and this is the freedom that must be approached by all of us.
What is the use to put the little ones behind the bars, the ones that do not really threaten the society, when the real sharks are still making the cards for the next game? Why some can be free and some cannot? Where is the fairness in this whole affair? Wouldn’t be possible to be wrong about this?
But let’s not get disappointed, because there is still in us a kind of freedom that no one can steal. This is the freedom that we have, to feel life in our own way; our feelings and thoughts cannot be stolen, deleted, or killed in any way. We must rediscover this inner freedom, the freedom that gives us the permission again, for the umpteenth time, to be humans and not to forget that those around us are all humans and we need each other; and after we rediscover the freedom inside us, let’s share it to those who most need it, those who have stuck in their heart, the rage and the anger.
My dear ones, talk… .speak up, get brave and believe in a better world. But more importantly:
…ACT!
„Be the change you want to see in the world”
– Mahatma Gandhi