Friday, January 25, 2013

Some Thoughts on Freedom


Freedom is a very tricky word.  According to the handy-dandy dictionary on my phone, freedom has five different definitions.  The one most fascinating to me is the third, which reads “The power to determine action without any form of restraint.”  That is a freedom that I long for, would absolutely hate to have, and wonder if even truly exists.
I’d love to make any decision to act without personal restraint, emotional or physical.  Just way my options and I’d be off, doing whatever it was that I decided to do in that moment. However, I know that if I had such freedom, that would mean very likely that I had no obligation to work, to friends, or to my family.  Since I currently have several obligations to work, friends, and family, it would mean that something very tragic had happened to all three.  I have absolutely no desire to have something tragic happen to my job, my friends, or my family.
That’s what makes me wonder if the “The power to determine action without any form of restraint” actually exists.  Maybe it’s just an extremely limited and self-centered view of humanity to assume this, but I’ve got to imagine that everyone has an obligation to someone or something, whether it be external sources like a job and other people in their lives, or an internal source like their own moral code, or their own hopes for the future. They aren’t necessarily negative restraints, but they are restraints, aren’t they?
<3

No comments:

Post a Comment