Like happiness, freedom is a state of mind. An inward journey. When someone is free to feel contented and satisfied with their idea of life given the everchanging circumstances. Freedom is more experiential in nature than existential. Because you are only as free as you wish to believe. In short freedom is the choice we make over status quo.
A wise-one perhaps would require me to state the dictionary definition of freedom before glorifying my opinion on it. Which I agree would be an ideal start. So, accepting Oxford Dictionary as the holy book of English, and Google as an official source of enlightenment: Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Privilege, Independence, liberty, self-government are other popular synonyms.
There are fissures surfacing in this fine explanation though. More specifically in the past one-and-a-half year of life-in-a-lockdown mode. Nature unleashed its havoc on humanity disrupting world order and the first thing that it took away from us was our ‘freedom’. We had no power on whatever was going around us. Neither the cause nor the solution of Covid was in our hands. We were cruise-controlled by the government and they further by the superpowers. Without power what is the meaning of rights. What possibly could we act upon? Except following instructions like vacuous kindergarteners. What we spoke was being lost in the noise of insouciant social media. What we thought didn’t matter. What we wanted we forgot. Hindrance and restraint were everywhere in everything. Word freedom lost its meaning and essence in the midst of this world chaos. Privilege was replaced by restrictions; independence by indoor; liberty by the lockdown.
While we all lost our freedom, millions lost their lives along with. To put the point in perspective, when it comes to survival collectivism takes precedence over individual freedom and group-think becomes group-choice. Although at will we have the choice not to follow group but logically it becomes inevitable, also the right thing to do.
Human mind and way of life however has gravely altered and reoriented post-covid. We the grateful survivors are somewhere redefining the word freedom through our own examples, at our own terms. As and how the life is resuming normalcy similar to the past, we are beginning to circle back into individualism. But now we are making a conscious effort to interpret life in the present tense. Today is the day I am alive and I shall live it fully, cause tomorrow may never come or what may come, who knows. There is a dash of optimism even in this otherwise pessimistic thought. The way we are aspiring to live life at our full potential at this scale is something new to human mind. The sense of regret and accumulated guilt has begun to lift-off our souls. Those daunting words ‘what will people say” are slowly diminishing from our society manuals. We are becoming individuals and somehow doing fine.
“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” ― Sigmund Freud
Flip the coin and on the obverse is another take on freedom. What is the definition of freedom for us, for you and for me? Is it doing what we have always done with ourselves and continue to do it? Is it following others and be constantly instructed on what is right and wrong? or is it expanding boundaries of our vision and stepping into the new unchartered territories taking risks? We can become what we want inside our head and if we try it can become our reality too. The younger you start the easier it is. The sooner you realize it is never too late. The catch is whether you make that decision or not. With all the pep-talk of be yourself, believe in yourself love yourself, take control of your life, make your own decisions, etc, etc…the question is how many of us really want to? How many of us do really take our own will seriously? Freedom as an action word will always come down on us as our act and our decision. No matter what changes in the world around us, we will always be in the center of it all holding our choices.
If freedom means choosing our own path, it also means not abusing its privileges. It means taking responsibility of every and any obstacle that may come our way while keeping our sanity and integrity of character. Freedom can sure get a little overwhelming for the risk averse. But remember, freedom means nothing if there is no freedom to make mistakes. We make our path, give our best, learn from mistakes and move on.
To an average law-abiding citizen freedom is doing what he/she wishes to do after fulfilling their social moral and family duties. As a nation freedom is to be able to preserve and practice our political, cultural, religious and ethnic value systems. Freedom flourishes best within boundaries drawn on logic and moral codes. Humans are social animals by instinct and hence, there will always be certain limitations to the idea of freedom. If we want a life on our terms and reap the fruits of freedom too, we will have to determine a middle path between I and us, and bear responsibilities attached to our choices.
Written by Anupriya Agrawal
Anupriya Agrawal is an explorer by choice, traveler with experience and a poet at heart. She has a knack for expressions that are best expressed through her words. Embarked on the journey of a seeker, which though is a long one, she finds her sanctuary in books and music. Presently living in Toronto, Canada, she enjoys her family life while aspiring to be an essayist and a public speaker.
Week 47 November 2021
