What It Means To Be Human: Freedom
We have all had moments when we felt our minds weren’t our own. The thought of something we had done or said created an unpleasant result and now our mind was feasting on the repercussions. In that time, we wish we had a free mind. Another scenario could be a day when we had special plans with friends for the evening, however, work requires you to stay in a little longer so your task is complete, we sigh and think to ourselves ‘gosh, I wish I was free’. Both scenarios show us the importance of freedom. An element of the human experience that is sought by many, and equally ignored by many.
Having a free mind is an underestimated piece of paradise. We spend the better part of our lives on our own, in our minds. Even at times when we are consumed with work, surrounded by family and friends; the way we interact with the world around us is determined by the state of our mind.
The thoughts that bind our minds are not trivial. People like to say that worrying doesn’t help. True, it doesn’t, but when we care enough about something, we worry about how it turns out. it’s human nature and everyone experiences it, the only difference is the manifestation. And it is these manifestations of worry that we ought to monitor closely. How do we treat those around us? Are the present tasks suffering as a result of our worry? Are we giving our minds time to embrace happy moments? If the response to these questions is negative, then we have become prisoners of our minds; one of the toughest prisons to break out of.
The fact that we are experiencing worry, means we care. It is from the very premise of care that we can begin to find a tunnel out of our mental prison. Care for the well-being of those around us and care for other spheres of our lives that need our best mental capacity.
The same way we subconsciously conditioned our minds to focus on worry, is the same way we can recondition our minds to deal with the worries in a different way. Once we embrace every ounce of what we feel, we simulate a scenario where we walk to every dead end in a maze. Upon realizing there is no way out through all the routes we’ve tried, only one route remains certain to lead us out of the maze. The route out of the maze of our minds is a succession of phrases that reassure us that there is a life waiting for us just outside the chaos we are in; a life that needs our active participation. This is how we tunnel our way out of the prison of our minds.
There is no greater feeling than experiencing the relief that comes with a free mind. After we have gotten rid of all the clutter we had collected, a fresh breeze blows through. We notice the many spaces that we can fill with new and better articles. Freedom of mind will have you dancing upon waking up, humming on your way to your vocation, tapping your foot while at work, and a sense of fulfillment at the end of the day, and all this spills over into the relationships you have with the people around you, your family and your pets too. Your creativity gets a boost because of all the free space that has been created; a fertile ground for fresh ideas to germinate.
“I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.”
-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry-
It’s from this form of freedom that we can express love. Love for our partners, children, friends, clients, co-workers, neighbors, and even the strangers on the street. The mind becomes a hot air balloon that floats over every fence that holds us in, floats over every weight that seeks to keep us down. We become a beacon of bright colorful hope to every person we interact with; actively or inactively.
Think of the time when you experienced uninterrupted and unscripted bliss. The feeling that the world around you was perfect at that moment. Imagine having the ability to create that at will; that is the benefit of mastering your mind to a point where you can, at will, find your way to a free mind. In the words of French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, “I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.” It is from this freedom that we get to experience the greatest quality of life.
From a free mind, we get to explore parts of our abilities that bring us fulfillment. We get to cast away the fear of what holds us back; we take a plunge into the ink bottle and paint our innermost desired murals. This is how we pour the best version of ourselves into the world around us. And when the world around us experiences our magic, the urge to create more is recharged. Looking at the world today, we need more of that.
In our times of meditation, we should embrace the idea that the world is ripe for our best ideas. There have been massive changes brought into the world by the ideas of a single person. You and I know what kind of world we want; a world where our minds can achieve a frequency that brings us bliss. This change will not come like the sun at dawn, we have to fight for that freedom.
