Freedom is Not Simply Circumstances-Daily Meditation 6.1.23
Today’s quotation:
Freedom is not simply circumstances that allow you to do whatever you want. Freedom is not only the opportunity to choose. Freedom is the strength of character to choose and to do what is right. . . .The foundation of freedom is not power or choice. Freedom is upheld not by men and women in government but by people who govern themselves.-Matthew Kelly
Today’s Meditation:
I’m very often amazed by the number of people who claim they’re free yet don’t know what that means. It seems they’ve latched onto the term to make themselves feel better, but they’ve given no thought to whether they’re free. Their actions and words are those of people being guided by forces outside themselves, yet they claim to govern themselves completely.
My freedom doesn’t come from a government telling me I’m free. Nor does it come from simply being able to wake up in the morning and deciding what I’m going to do. My freedom is reflected in my choices and my willingness to risk losing all that I have to do what I know to be right. My freedom is shown in my decisions that don’t follow society’s norms and don’t come as an effort to maintain whatever safety or security I believe I have. It amazes me to see how many people have the “freedom” to choose whatever clothes they want, yet who stick to certain name brands or can’t take vacations when they want because their jobs demand their presence during certain times of the year.
It’s important to remember that we give up certain others with each decision we make as free people. When I decide to teach, I decide to give up the ability to take a week-long vacation in October to see the autumn leaves. I spent four years in the Army, and when I signed the papers, I knew that I was giving up many freedoms in the process, but it was a sacrifice that I was willing to make–, and I was still a free person. Giving up those freedoms, though, didn’t make me less free. Some of the freest people in the world may have lived under conditions that seem least conducive to freedom, such as poverty or totalitarian regimes. But they were free because their minds and hearts were free; while they might not have had complete freedom of expression or movement, their freedom was an interior condition rather than an exterior one.
Our freedom represents a huge responsibility to ourselves, an important need or requirement to make the most of it that we can. Because I’m free right now, for example, I will leave the job that has become less challenging and move on. I don’t know what or where–I’m going to let life push me where it wants me to go, to a place where I hope I’ll be able to make an important contribution to the lives of others. After all, freedom is about using the freedom to do something significant for others and not grabbing everything we can for ourselves.
Questions to consider:
Why do we focus our ideas of freedom so much on what we can do for ourselves?
Where do my freedoms end, and the other person’s freedoms begin?
Just because you can do something, is it always best to do so? Is it a responsible use of freedom to do something we know is wrong?
For further thought:
Freedom from something is not true freedom. The freedom to do anything you want is also not the freedom I am talking about. My vision of freedom is to be yourself.-Osho
Freedom: The Courage to Be Yourself
If you missed our last Daily Meditation, it is right here.
