What does freedom mean to you?
To define freedom we would each say something similar but yet so different. That is because freedom means many things. Let's have a look -
- liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another
- the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken
- unrestricted use
- the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous
- the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.
Freedom...the possibilities are limitless. Freedom to live how one pleases, freedom to go wherever one wants, freedom to not have authorities limit you, freedom of speech, freedom from debt, freedom from burdens. When asked what being free means to me, I would say the freedom from within is the most important. We could have all of the freedom in the world and still enslave our very own mind, body and soul. On the other hand, we could have limitations stopping us from doing many things, yet we could still have freedom. Releasing ourselves from the burden that we carry, is freedom. Letting go of all the worries that come to us on a daily basis, is freedom. Allowing our inner self to be happy, is freedom.
Truthfully, if you asked me if I was free, I would give you a big hell no. What is stopping me from being free though? I have the ability to do damn near anything that I want. Why am I not free? I'm not free because I have allowed my mind to lock me inside of my own prison. Ironically though, I have the freedom to set myself free. Being free to me, starts from how we feel inside. Many say that freedom means to live carefree, we can't do that if we don't release many of those burdens from within. By holding on to them, we don't do anything but make matters worse.
My husband is a good example of this. He made some bad choices a few years ago and now has to pay the consequences. His literal freedom is being taken away from him in a few weeks when he goes to prison. You can read his story here. Yet, he has finally found his freedom from within. He isn't as stressed as he was, he isn't showing as much concern as he was. I on the other hand, have been a stay at home mother for three years and I am now forced to suddenly become a single mother but I am still the one with the freedom. I am the one who the freedom remains with, the freedom to do as I please. The freedom to eat when I want, use the phone, get on Steemit. Yet, I feel so far from free. I feel like the walls are all closing in around me. The door is slammed shut with noone to let me out.
I have always locked myself inside of my own prison, many of us have probably done the same. It is so easy for us to take away our own freedom. I understand that other places don't have the freedom like we do and with that, I do believe the freedom from within can still be found. Just like with my husband, it's finding that inner peace. We need to allow ourselves to feel contentment. @apolymask, the one who asked us to say what we feel freedom means, says this about freedom-
I'm of the belief that true freedom is dangerous, but.. I think true slavery is even more dangerous.
This is pretty powerful. It actually goes two different ways, one side could mean the authorities taking away our freedom and the other is our mind taking away our own freedom, both are serious matters. True freedom is dangerous, any form of freedom can in fact get us in trouble if we abuse our right to have freedom. Slavery is worse though, if the authorities took away almost all of our freedom like they do in some places, that leaves us feeling as though we have nothing to live for. True slavery from within is dangerous too. Take it from me, it will ruin your life worse than the problems that are making you feel enslaved by your own mind.
Some days, I want to give up and I have the freedom to do just that. It isn't because the government is taking away what many feel to be freedom. There is an issue in the US now with the right to bear arms feeling like it is being taken away. I don't want to give up because the freedom to my Second Amendment is being tampered with. What about the freedom of speech? I don't want to give up because I might get a verbal harassment charge for telling someone to fuck off. I sometimes want to give up because I have allowed myself to have no freedom from the burdens I have. Again, this is what freedom means to me. As I said, we will all have our own way to define freedom.
What about in the 60s and 70s, do you think hippies felt free then? @bashadow wrote a really cool musical tribute to freedom that mentioned this too but it is so true. I bet they wouldn't have accomplished their goal if they had absolutely no freedom from within. In music, we can hear a lot of emotions just by listening to the words. Many of those, have the sound of being free and many do not. Those who don't, are people who have millions of dollars, they can live free. No, not all of the songs were written and said the be 100% true but majority of them are truthful. Yet, so many people with so much freedom, are not free.
What do we do about it? To set ourselves free, we really need to find that inner peace. Taking it back to the hippies for a second here, we need to find something we love, something worth being free for. We need to love it and we need to believe in it. Worrying and stress does nothing but put up even more blocks, we need to release every burden that we have, let all of those feelings go. I think actually taking the chance at freedom is an important step too. We do have the freedom to change and learn from our mistakes, so that is what we need to do. We do have the freedom to change our lives and do better and be better, so that is what we need to do. Whatever it is that is holding us back, there are ways to break free. Once we break free from those people, places or things that hinder our ability to be truly happy and content, only then will we be set free. Do what makes you happy.
Helping freedom grow is difficult depending on how we look at it. I don't know a solution to helping other places with freedom from authorities. I do know that we all have freedom of speech as long as we do not abuse it. We all have our own opinions and our own thoughts. However, effective communication can get you very far. Accepting forms of freedom that are not your own, helps freedom grow. I talked about this a little the other day when it comes to so many people being judgmental. The freedom to express our thoughts to the world, no matter how different they might be, is a good step to helping freedom grow. Letting other people know that they are not alone, helps freedom grow. This goes with all of those things that make people feel free not just freedom from within. Stand up for what you believe in, make changes with others and with yourself. Use freedom to spread freedom.
Thanks to Steemit and those at @ifc, I just had the freedom to write out my thoughts and feelings which to me is like therapy.
The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage. - Carrie Jones
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Beautiful post @magicalmoonlight. I love in the first part where you talk about being free within. I think that is something so many of us have issues with and many don't understand how to achieve it.
I agree we have too many laws to truly do what we want and they keep wanting to take them away. I don't own a gun, but I am against them changing the law. I think once they do that someone will declare martial law and we'll be screwed. As it stands now we would still be prosecuted if we were try and prevent the government from taking out property.
Thanks for stopping by @tryskele. Freedom within is a tough battle that's for sure. I actually don't own a gun either but I do believe in others having that right. I also believe that martial law will come when they change that law.
Love where you said
Nice post.
Thanks for checking out my post :) I really appreciate it
@magicalmoonlight, this is an amazing article and I honestly hope you get a curie or I myself will get this boosted lol. You really continue to amaze me with your personal growth and expressing of your inner thoughts. You are not as imprisoned as you believe, I have watched you build yourself up and break barriers you otherwise would not have, and for you, that is a form of freedom.
What I'm getting at is that you are doing great and are a blessing to all of us. NEVER stop writing on Steemit, the community and people such as myself NEED your heartfelt penmanship!
Thanks a lot for the kind words of encouragement. It really does mean a lot 😊 I know I make myself feel like those blocks are there even though I have been able to break them.
Very nice write up.
Unlock my mind and throw away the key,
All I ever wanted was to be free.
he key is gone, and now I'm free,
Please someone find my key.
I no longer want to see,
what it's like to be free.
A conundrum freedom is, will we really want it when we get it? or is Ultimate freedom Pandora's Box?
This choice of a round by @apolymask is highly thought provoking.
Nice words there! True freedom would probably be too much for us all to handle. This one was a nice challenge!
Freedom is a very complex thing. I love this post and how you expressed your feelings. There're so many things in our way, when it comes to be free. It's also really relative, if we let the outside things limit how free we feel. I think it's more like a feeling, than something real. As you said, we have the power to lock ourselves and not let us be free, but we also (sometime) have the power to open up to the world. :)
So very true. I appreciate the thoughtful comment on your feelings of freedom 😊
I believe Janis sang it best, when you have no fear, you are free. This was a lovely and thoughtful post to read. Thank you for sharing your most inner thought with all of us, brave of you. The only thing I would add to that quote I wrote at the beginning of this comment is that my freedom ends where yours begins, and if we all lived by that rule we would not need laws because our respect for each other would always be there to stop us from hurting each other. Again, amazing post! 💚💚💚
Oh wow, that was very thoughtful and so true! I could only imagine living in a world like that, how amazing it would. Janis did say some very meaningful words there too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on freedom.
Too many things prevent us from being absolutely free: the laws of the country, moral and financial constraints, restrictions on movement between countries or maybe even the state of health...
It remains only to try to find a false sense of freedom within your little world and live in harmony and peace with the rest.
This is so incredibly true. We will never truly he free so finding that peace seems to be the only way. Thank you for the thoughtful comment.
We could have all of the freedom in the world and still enslave our very own mind, body and soul. On the other hand, we could have limitations stopping us from doing many things, yet we could still have freedom. Releasing ourselves from the burden that we carry, is freedom. Letting go of all the worries that come to us on a daily basis, is freedom. Allowing our inner self to be happy, is freedom.
You hit the nail on the head there sister! I believe we, ourselves, deny our own freedoms. Sure you can be locked away, jailed, etc. but when we allow ourselves to truly be free of our own damnation is when we are truly free. We are our own worst enemies. Keep your head up and keep searching for that light within. You deserve to be free from your own cage, all you gotta do is look deep within and find that key!
I think finding freedom inside yourself is crucial! For how can you help others with freedom if you don't even know what it is?
I did have a lil difficulty with this part.
I suppose that is freedom, but.. I think the burdens and worries are important parts of life, and sometimes happiness isn't necessarily the highest goal but to live honorably in a way in which doesn't harm others unjustly.
So.. This could be semantics, but.. I think it would be more freeing to live morally even if that includes burden and worry, to be totally carefree to the point where you don't consider how your actions may negatively affect others is a whole different kind of prison I think. It may seem free, but I think if one truly understands freedom they would not want to harm others in ways in which they would not want to be harmed, IE the golden rule essentially. And I have a feeling you would probably agree with that, but the way you worded it made me feel like I should try to add a lil extra detail and clarity in regards to the words used.
Freedom is essentially the ability for you to do as you please, but I think true freedom comes with responsibility.. The responsibility to try to not harm others with your freedom. IE don't drink and drive even if you have the freedom and it would make you less worried and burdened to cause you might hurt someone.
Another good example and one you may not resonate with as most people are not vegans.. But.. I am a vegan and I have the freedom to have animals killed for me or kill them myself so I can eat their body and gain taste pleasure from it, but I don't do that anymore cause I realized I wouldn't want that done to me if I was in their position.. And that I would want mercy and love, so I should give it to them.
So.. While freedom technically means you could be light and not care about how much you hurt others, just as long as you're happy.. But to me, I think true happiness comes from not harming others unjustly. And.. The word "free" according to a lot of etymology means "to love" so.. To me, I would think one's freedom should attempt to reflect that and to show love in their expression and choices in life, even if it isn't always the the most pleasurable or "lightest" of courses.
Furthermore I dug into the word "care" a bit and it tends to imply being made "heavy".. So.. While I do think caring about others creates a prison, so does not caring about them. They each create their own kinds of prisons, though I'd personally prefer to try to travel that path that harms others less with my freedom.
Thanks for the super thoughtful and thought provoking entry! And sorry for such a long response, but.. Your article hit me on a pretty deep level! And I feel like.. Even though I try to spread freedom so much I myself am trapped in a bunch of my own mental prisons pretty bad and I need to work on that.. So thanks for the reminder!
You always take things to such a completely different level, lol! A good level of course because I 100% agree with you. The wording I can definitely see causing a different thought process. I guess I just assumed that people would know that morals come with releasing those things. I do think that a person can release those worries and stress for that inner freedom and still have morals, at least I would hope. I like what you are saying though. I think this was more of a personal level for me and how I felt. I can't exactly live honorably and have all of my morals when I am not happy on the inside.
Oh and even though I do still eat meat, though I have weighing heavily on stopping, I like when I meet vegans. I have a pet pig and the compassion that they show is freaking insane. She has and can show more emotions than my dogs and that is the truth. Cows are super sweet too, I met a baby cow a few months ago that followed me around every where that I went and when I stopped walking, he put his big head on my chest for me to pet him.