Tag: freedom

The Illusion of Freedom

The Illusion of Freedom
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Freedom exists in…


… schoolbooks,
… dictionaries,
… fairy tales,
… video games,
… dreams,

 

Or

 

… in the little daily choices we make, like having a pizza for lunch or going for a burger… and that’s only if our dietary restrictions allow us…

 

For more complex choices , the society we’ve been forced to live in by so called ‘free will’ makes the decisions…

 

With friendly imperatives starting with “Don’t…”

 

  • “…wear that…”
  • “…eat that…”
  • “…drink (that)…”
  • “…smoke (that)…”
  • “…be different…”
  • “…be weird, people are watching…”

 

All the demonstrative ‘that’ chunks uttered above vaguely indicate that they were actually remote choices of both the wrong-doer and their angelic companion bound by the unspoken rules of the society we may feel so detached from.

 

Most of us have the illusion of ‘being free as birds’, but the question is “Are birds really free?”

 

“Are they?”

 

They can fly, but so can we… by planes…

 

And that sums about everything they can do freely. They can’t swim, dive, run, write, make instrumental music, paint or have a pizza takeout etc.

 

So, why does it feel like they are the free ones?

Locked in our own Prison

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Over a 7 billion souls on Earth, with over a 7 billion distinctive characters, yet each person behaves and acts in unison defined by one set of outdated rules: The norms of society.

People laugh and cry as society dictates them to… even implying when and where to show joy or despair.

We spend our hard-earned cash by joining the race to get the jobs noone really wants. Getting involved in unleashing creativity like doing arts, crafts, music, writing, film-making does not pay, having connections do… we do everything to please the society and just to be accepted.

Freedom exists only in schoolbooks, yet everyone is directed into thinking they’re free as a bird. But, aren’t birds are freer in so many ways we can’t anticipate? They can fly forward, backward, up and down demolishing physical boundaries and… and they’re never judged for any action by their own kind. There are bird parks where they live in peace but never societies where they’re stripped off what they are. And yet again, we have the expression “bird-brained” to look down on them in a world where they literally look down on us.

Even the language tricks us: “Free will” is two words in which the latter can be considered as an indication of the future… meaning not now, maybe never. We live in a dystopia disguised as an utopia… where there are no “Free Won’t”s… not even in the language.

The society deceives us, breaks us and shapes us as if we were mass produced. Some unaware people may beg to differ but actually we “differ to beg” for so many things that we want happening in our lives. Them; acceptance… us; total freedom.

But, how? How do we achieve total freedom?

Here are some ideas:

1. Be totally honest with everyone even if you don’t want to hurt their feelings. Wounds heal but deception does not. Besides, total honesty removes any kind of communicative barrier.

2. Have no expectations from anyone, anytime. Expectations only bring disappointments but receiving without expecting is true bliss.

3. Treat your happiness as a treasure. Treat your unhappiness to feel better. If you are happy, you make everyone around you happy. It’s highly contagious.

4. Watch kids and learn from them. They can do many things that we long for.

5. Try humor if everything else fails. Try it if everything goes well, too. Humor is essential.

 

The Landlord’s Fury for Art

I once read about an ancient nomad tribe vagabonding the Earth, hunting and gathering and having no concept or even a simple word for a domestic residence we call home. Every piece of land was temporary and arose no feeling of belonging. The tribesmen were literally homeless yet they owned the whole land. Then, there were the cavemen: primitive people; the first settlers in dark and damp corners of the world. The first settlements were nature’s present and sheltered many. But, there was something missing in those caves; something that would transform simple dwellings to places with a soul… 

Nope… it was not furniture or a huge, flat screen TV. 

When people feel safe and hunger is not an issue anymore, they tend to create… from rumors to music and art.

Art in the form of cave paintings, like hunting scenes was perfect as it not only brought a soul to their living quarters, it also gave people a chance to brag about and immortalize their favorite memories for ages to come. In a way, art made us who we are today. Since we are safe and not starving anymore, why don’t we keep doing what our ancestors did. Hanging landscape paintings with frames is never the same as it has limitations. Plus banging nails into your walls ruins your house. Just let your imagination run wild and free. Use the wall and paint freely…it is your house as long as you live in it.

But, today’s society led by the kinds of my landlord have ridiculous objections as why we can’t live the way we like. “The society does not approve that” they say. I highly doubt the society approves anything that is creative, fun and free…

“Did you know freedom exists in a school book?” J.Morrison…

Redefining Society and Living Free

blog090Do you ever feel continuing bliss (not just short bursts of limited happiness) in your life?
How long has it been since you were truly happy?
We are becoming more and more like machines that are programmed to live a boring, aimless life with certain strict rules. We can hardly do whatever makes us happy in our society like saying what we really think about people, not caring about what people really think about us, admitting that you love someone, rolling in mud in rain, sailing a toy ship in the bath tub, wailing like a banshee unexpectedly, dancing naked in the streets and even choosing what we eat (nowadays people are often not happy with the food they consume due to dietary restrictions).
Can you remember a time when you could do all of these and not judged by the society that we shaped up in the first place?
Actually, there are multiple ways, each with a major drawback:
1. When we are drunk or stoned… (but here, we are still judged by the rules of society that we created)
2. When we suffer from a severe mental disorder  (but again we can never be totally free in our actions, the best case scenario is that we will be locked in an asylum with like-minded fellows).
3. When we are so old that we frequently shit our pants (but here, there’s the problem of finding the required energy to act freely due to old age and our decaying bodies)
4. when we are in our infancy… (but here, we have a disadvantage of height and strength required to do everything we have in our minds)
The best option to live a life where we are totally free, is the last one. Moreover, we have a suitable body in our adulthood. So, why don’t we live like kids? Wouldn’t it be the perfect society for us?
And there should be only one rule:
Not to hurt others in the process in any way…
It is easy enough and I started trying to live like this a short while ago. I do feel happy. Come and join me and let’s rewrite the rules of our society and redefine total bliss in life.
What are you waiting for?