Freedom Is More than Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose

Feeling free is an intricate sensation.

July is freedom month, in the U.S. anyway.

Every 4th we celebrate the miracle of a bunch of nobody colonists defeating what was then a superpower. And 245 years later, we have become that superpower.

Freedom means independence, the right to choose and make decisions. It means autonomy. It also means we either endure or enjoy the consequences of those decisions. So there’s always something lost, even when there’s something gained.

Freedom doesn’t mean attachment to nothing.

We are never truly free in the sense we have no obligations, even it’s to ourselves. Sometimes the final action we take in finding our freedom is to accept the change or changes this newfound freedom brings.

If we don’t then we aren’t free.

And you can’t break free from yourself.

So are you ever really free? Of course, you can be, but exactly how does one become free?

Freedom lays within

It’s a decision, a state of mind.

Feeling free is similar to feeling happy with what you have and who you are.

There are different degrees of freedom. We all have things we have to do daily, and some of us have more than others. We have kids, jobs, bills to pay though we have a choice on how to raise our kids, where we work, and how much we rack up on our credit cards.

Yes, our freedom left us with obligations.

For instance, I work full-time and feel chained to a job I don’t like, but I work from home, one of the few benefits of COVID, so I am freer than when I traveled to and from work five days a week.

I relish that extra time. It gives me a sense of freedom despite the obligation of working 40-hours a week.

No, I don’t have a trust fund and unlimited resources, but the ties have loosed quite a bit. It’s a degree of freedom. I can choose to enjoy it or complain.

I choose the former.

Nonattachment makes you free.

Letting go of expectations can lift someweight off your shoulders. Think of it as being one less thing to worry about.

Our sense of accomplishment when we set outa goal should be about the journey as much as the final result.

You’ve made a choice that no one forced you to make, and it’s unique to you. Learn as you go, enjoy the trip. What did you learn? What can you do differently the next time?

You can always try again for a different result, maybe the one you wanted in the first place.

Leave yourself open to the unexpected.

Being free can mean being alone.

If freedom means no attachments to people, places, and things, then you may be a bit of a rolling stone, coming and going as you please and even living off the land.

But it’s a two-way street.

You might have no one to answer to and no bills to pay, but that probably means you’re a loner. In other words, alone. No one will know if you go missing or need help. And some people are good with this.

If I disappear, I hope I’d be missed. But being alone on an empty sea is exciting for some.

Leaving it all and everyone behind leaves you free from connections and other people’s expectations, no matter how slight they might be.

You have nothing but freedom.

Freedom, independence, and all the other caveats do not come without a cost. It might be well worth it, but that never means there’s nothing left to lose.

Or gain.

The choice is yours.

And that's freedom.

#WriteHere