From my perspective, freedom is impossible. As at the moment freedom is obtained, the chains of responsibility get shackled to every moment thereafter. One of the most attractive parts of Steem for me has been that I am free to act as I choose, make the decisions I do - and take the rewards and punishments for my actions. Too many people think they are entitled to the upside only.
What would you sell your freedom for? What price of Steem would you take happily take if you knew it would kill the decentralized nature of Steem and the value this blockchain has to so many of the community?
We all want gains. We all want better lives. We all want a return on our investment whether we have put in our hard-earned fiat, or our blood, sweat and tears to earn through sweat equity. Everyone wants something.
But at what cost? What something makes the expected pain and suffering of others worth it? What are you willing to sell your values for?
I find a lot of people talk about their worth on Steem and how for their time isn't worth this or that reward, that the reward isn't worth their effort. People talk as if they have a very good sense of their self-worth, yet most seem to have put little thought into what they actually value.
Perhaps it is a symptom of the times and society, as the individual has taken precedence over the community, whilst the same individual has been devalued into a disposable consumable. We have come to value the number of connections over the depth of relationship and the difficulty of relationships can be avoided as there are so many more connections waiting to hook up. People love the diversity and the possibility of all the options - but miss the intimacy and the understanding that only comes through relationships developed across time and through thick and thin.
They say that everything has a price. Is it true? How many parents would sell their child, and how many would give up their own life to save a child? With every action there is a cost, but it doesn't mean there was a willing sale.
But Steem is an opt-in platform, no one is forced to be here, everyone can come and go as they choose. Yet, many of those who stay do not want to take the responsibility of their actions nor the maintenance requirements of the community. Again, everyone wants only upside, without recognizing that there is always a downside.
For every action, there is a reaction.
And every interaction is going to exert forces that have consequences, intentional or not. People want to be free to act, but do not want to deal with the reaction, unless it is positive and in their favor. Yet, they do not want others to act as they please.
"Let me be unrestricted and unchecked me, but you must do as I command."
That is not Freedom. Freedom is to be open to unrestricted upside and downside - the metaphorical heaven and hell, and all that lays between.
We are seeing the actions of entitlement to upside without the grime of the downside now, a child who expects to have every desire granted - that child is the society we have created - where everyone is special, talented and deserving of a prize no matter their skill, effort or behavior.
We have created an illusion of upside on social media, the presentation and branding of ourselves to show our best side, to signal our strengths, advertise our intelligence and skills and avoid our weaknesses and ugly. We have put our lives on the line and we sell them for hearts, stars and likes from strangers, the options that make us feel good about ourselves on the surface without providing the nutrition to dig deeper, to find out just who we are.
The parent will sacrifice themselves in the place of their child because of the depth of relationship, not the blood of family. The freedom of unrestrained love is no freedom at all, as it demands the sacrifice under circumstances - it binds one to another and the lack of limitation opens one up to the most intense pain imaginable. The pain of the ultimate loss.
I have considered that loss as a parent, as I held my daughter in my arms as she had seizures, was unresponsive and I couldn't recognize her face - I have run through the most terrible of scenarios a thousand times while sitting useless in hospital waiting rooms.
This is Freedom.
The exposure to the experience of uncontrollable pain. Unprotected. Freedom isn't being able to do what one wants, it is about being completely open to all that comes one's way and understanding that what will be, will be. This doesn't mean standing frozen, it means accepting the consequences of moving and knowing that it isn't always going to work out as planned, isn't all upside - and there may not be a reward.
And here we are, back at the rewards. Everyone wants a reward - but how can one know the level of prize if one doesn't even know what their values are? Find out what you value and then ask yourself - what will you sell them for.
We think our values are worth something, yet we put a price on our freedom.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
Thank you for your thoughts! My value does not depend on STEEM ;-)
That is the important point - that is exactly, what "life" wants us to understand! Thanks, Kadna
I think many sell themselves for very little.
I am glad you enjoyed the read and thank you for the quote there, I fixed the grammar now :)
!ENGAGE 25
Hehe, i did not recognize a "mistake" but the word doubling. ;-)
What i always want to ask you: you are making so many very good (long) posts and i wondered wether the blockchain is your working place? For you have a family and they want time from you, too. ;-)))
I wish it was. I actually run my own business consultancy as well as have a full-time job as a technical product training specialist. It is almost 1 am and most of my posts are written after my daughter goes to bed. Sometimes like today, I write while on lunch break.
For now though... it is bedtime for sure. :)
Hmmm, care for yourself! Good night ;-)
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What an amazing read to wake up to. It's 7 am and I am here nodding to every word and taking in the lessons blended within this piece.
My take:
We as a people have come to value the number of networks over the depth of the relationships they represent. I don't know how but this explains my entire 2019 and the corporate world experience.
The every CONCERNED parent's phobia... is the most scariest thing I have ever gone through a couple of times if we are scaling against yours. I can't even start thinking about the agony you had to endure. I am sorry 💜
Finally. When I get to this place of thoughts fluency? This was a good read.
Much of life these days and perhaps always is about ladder climbing in one way or another. I think that more now than the past, crushing the fingers of others on the rungs is socially acceptable.
Being a parent is all upside... even the downside. The learning experience available is enormous. :)
!ENGAGE 25
Agreed! It's interesting. This journey we call life. How did our existence come to be such a struggle? Anyway... we move forward.
What I am yet to understand is why the more one learns the more one feels like they don't know much though? Sigh.
The dunning Kruger effect
@tezmel you have received
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Sounds like a child's view of adulthood XD
My view of the world is idealistic, as I believe that the future can be better than the past :)
!ENGAGE 25
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Even more than usual your thoughts are deep and make reflect on my life and how I fill my time. Thanks for that!