Freedom

Its a sadly misused word these days... liberation is better only for that reason.

Freedom has come to mean selfishness. Today it means "I can do what I want".

Of course this is not real freedom because it assumes you know what you want and what is best for you. You might exercise your freedom to drive fast which looks good until you have an accident and are paralised... which ultimately reduces your freedom.

More subtly the exercising of apparent freedom in behaving selfishly and badly toward people - say by lying and cheating - slowly erodes our status in the world reducing our freedom as people learn they cannot trust us. We thereby lose the benefits we once had of friendship and cooperation. Cynical attitudes like this more subtly - and with far further reaching consequences - damage oneself. Upholding the belief that "I am better than others" and can do what i want to them, destroys our ability to relate to the world, shifting us into a lonely and closed existence which is extremely vulnerable.

As many moral philosophers and religious leaders have espoused before - only good behaviour can lead to true freedom. It seems a contradiction that we need to learn how to be free and that it takes effort and wisdom, but that is the truth.

Freedom which had no restraints is what we want. But trying to run before we can walk only leads to bloodied knees. The attitude to freedom as something that we can just take without training is the source of the chaos that it causes. Freedom is built only upon wisdom. Without wisdom there is no freedom.

My father used to say "freedom implies responsibility". I've never been too sure about this word "responsibility"... it sounds like part of the blame process where when something goes wrong those responsible get the blame. If responsibility means instead that we those responsible act with care and wisdom toward their duty then I agree. That is what creates freedom.

On a simple level the signs that this is true are everywhere. If you know what you are doing you can achieve so much more than if you do not. If you want something you are much more likely to get it if you understand what it is and how to get it. Obviously freedom to get what you want requires knowledge and wisdom. How can anyone think that freedom means just having it for nothing? how can that possibly work?

This is a superficial explanation which is also wrong though. A deeper level is the wisdom which sees that the reason why our life is the way it is lies in our attitude. With a positive attitude then even seemingly impossible situations suddenly get all kinds of avenues out. People watching "lucky" people probably think how does he always get away with it. If they are using wisdom it is because they can see the infinite possibilities that lie in ever situation. Nothing then seems like a trap or no-win situation. Negative attitudes is what traps us because we close off the possibilities and feel that life is pushing us around. Thats where the desperation above for freedom comes from, one that the politicians cynically exploit.

The ultimate positive attitude is complete liberation which means cutting the root of bondage to the world which is actually ourselves not the world. The anchor which keeps us stuck where we are is our own desire which becomes attached to things and won't move on. This is the deepest ignorance which challenges our freedom. Its the ignorance I tackle daily so until personal progress is made no point going further. Much written in books though especially in Buddhism.

The other thing I wanted to mention about freedom is the link between Nature and Freedom. This was drawn to my attention by the BBC program "Something Understood" on Radio 4 in the last full week of July "The Wild". I've got a copy and might illegally make that available when its off the BBC site. I need to listen to it all as well.

It concludes that the allure of the Wild and of things natural which surround us from insects crawling to the daily light show of the sunrise and sunset is that most profound and human instinct for freedom. The vast natural world opens our heart to that infinite possibility and unbounded radiance of the human soul. That is my own words for what I hope the program did actually say.

I'd not wanted to make the link to freedom because I know the natural world is a tough place governed by uncompromising and unmerciful laws. You make a mistake, you misread something and Nature will think nothing of wiping your existence out. At the same time, the very same sweep of the hand which removes you from the stage, it sows another in your place. The ego has a problem with Nature cos She doesn't seem to respct us. That is until we learn her laws, then it is harmony and freedom.

I'm not completely clear on this point as I write but isn't the allure of Nature the attitude which sets us free from Life? If you despise nature then it will punish you mercilessly, if you love it and are wise to it then you escape?

Certainly as I review my own life to date it seems to be a struggle within between two worlds. The world of games and worldly vanity - the job titles, positions, wealth, qualifications, skills, clothing labels, friends and partners (i.e. the CV) - and the actual reality of sensations and things I can see and touch. The two are as different as oil and water to me. Stick me on a beach with the wind, elemental whiff of sea air, the waves, the subtle tones of blue fading across the sky any day to the icecream vendor in gawdy colours and the girls and guys vying for each others attention. True there is as much nature in the ice cream and attraction of sexes as in the sky and sea but the latter is naked and free; the former wrapped up in a maelstrom of glitter and glass which obscures to the point of distraction. Give me something that does not shapeshift upon which to rest my gaze, upon which to rest my hand and I know that it is real. Clarity of vision like glassy waters cascading over angular mountain slopes under the gaze of vast horizons that is nature and freedom itself... simple, unobscure, full of vitality.