Freedom: The ability to not...

Contrary to popular opinion I am coming to believe freedom means being able to choose the right thing, even when it's hard. Anybody can be a slave to their desires, lusts, wants, etc...being able to not let those things control you, not letting your mind be enslaved to your momentary hopes? That is freedom, living beyond the cage you live in.

Freedom is not being what you are told you have to be, and choosing to be what you want to be beyond the whims of culture...beyond the whims of emotion or hormones...

To often screens with glowing letters and pictures tells us that life with no restraints or boundaries is the ideal. The satisfaction of an invincible body and redos of video games ought to be the norm, ought to be real life...and if it's not easy..it's probably not worth striving for.

...It's not popular to follow the crowd or tradition. Being different is cool. Sometimes the hardest things in our American culture is to...not be an independent being...not show everyone else how special and different and specific you are...to just be normal....to be submissive to someone or something else...to believe, contrary to what your Kindergarten teacher told you, you will probably not be the president. And when thinking about what you care about, you should probably not be the most important person in your world. You should not believe yourself the most informed being in your world either.

...even if it means, just being who you were told to be...because maybe who they told you to be was actually smart...even if your 17 year old brain didn't realize it at the time...or your 26 year old brain or 36 year old brain for that matter. Something can be true and worth doing....even if someone else agrees with it....

Freedom is hard...I don't get it, but I think it has more to do with me getting less of what I want and learning more of who I am in my lacking than I could ever learn of freedom in indulgence.

I am always learning...and I may still be a fool...to often I find a temporary freedom in finding temporary satisfaction...but even fools can learn from mistakes...and even fools hope for better tomorrows.

...Freedom always starts with today.

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