Are You Free?

Freedom? Let’s explore it. Does it allow you to kill your neighbor or rape anyone? No, your freedom ought not to hurt other’s sentiments. Freedom is discipline. It comes through equality and is comprised of morality. In today’s context, you are free, if a thousand expensive brands do not magnetically attract you, your friend’s opinion comes below your own, and none can stop you from following the right path of truth. You’re not bound or enslaved through your desires and wishes. And you do not consider money above human life.

The birds in the sky are free to pick up food for their survival. But some of us confine them to a cage and render their wings useless. And just so, in today’s world, many children and young girls are trafficked and dehumanized. Many childhoods are lost and burnt by the evil predators of our world, snatching away the freedom of others.

There are borders everywhere, human-constructed walls restricting humanity itself. Be it between nations, states, cities, houses, etc. We ought to realize that as humans, we must be united to be free. Caste, class, race and religion boundaries ought to dissolve to help ourselves attain freedom from selfish leaders who strive only for individual prosperity.

Freedom comes when we equally respect and value others, when we refuse to judge others or stay aloof within the four walls talking to ourselves. It comes through participation in community. A woman who is fully clothed can still enjoy freedom just as others do. We don’t have to impress others by our choices. We can’t be perfect in life but we can strive to know the art of living. Freedom is when a person’s abilities become more important than his/her clothing or gender, when we learn to react patiently to others’ opinion and when life becomes meaningful through hard work and not just in making money.

In conclusion, I’d like to say that we can talk endlessly of what freedom is and what it means to each of us, but there is no point to such discussions if we do not try to realize this state within this world in general and our lives in particular. So take that first step, look within yourself to understand where you unknowingly restrict yourself and move beyond your own boundaries to be free!