Freedom, how that word's meaning can change over time to an individual.
Now, let me say, I know that when I was younger living at my biological family’s place, freedom to me was so different to how I view it now.
Freedom was as simple as not having my brothers and parents telling me what to do for just a moment in time.
It was also as simple as reading my phantom comics or watching a movie and even than it was not a true freedom as I had to hide things that would have been too "worldly", with inappropriate pictures such as nudity or sex scenes etc (I think you get my drift).
Whereas now these things and much more, I just do as I wish, not even considering such things to be a freedom any more, but a norm.
Taken from the dictionary (and this time I actually picked up the written word, yes a book - the dictionary... How old fashion of me😉) it simply defines freedom as -
I thought of this and I must say, that is a part of what freedom means to me.
- The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.
- The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.
The power to say and do as I want, for example when I directly went against what I was brought up to act, see and believe in.
Firstly, I dated and then married a so called sinner and then hence by association I was a sinner.
Secondly, I had an elopement that had no religious connotation.
Thirdly, I never came back to the religion or family.
Tho this for me was defiantly a form of freedom, it came with great emotional pain and suffering.
freepresjournal.com
The freedom of not being enslaved or imprisoned, most would say they posses. However from my experience I have only in my last few years felt such freedom to some extent (as I believe no one has true freedom as we are told and controlled by higher forces, such as government).
I was brought up in a very strict religious family, who did imprison me.
Well, no I wasn't locked away to never be let out but my where abouts and who I interacted with was controlled (even in my early 20's), even what I could do as a job was controlled. So yes to me it was a prison.
So for me yes, the simple dictionary definition of freedom has some meaning but let me go deeper and express more on how I feel freedom is.
Freedom - Consequence and pain free? I say no:
I strongly believe that freedom does not come freely but with sometimes mild but most frequently with great consequences. Freedom is messy.
Freedom is not the end, but a consequence
Guiomar (2013).
For example, war to freedom. The German wished of freedom in World War 2, America's independence and the French revolution. They all came at the cost of life and suffering but spawned by the desire of free will. They do not just suffer immediately but can do generationally - to this day the word Nazi is still used to describe a disgraceful person, and how about the ongoing suffering of those who suffered personally from either their hands or descendants of so called Nazis.
Personally, my experience of freedom has come with great consequences. By leaving my family and their belief I became an outcast. Not to be invited to weddings, funerals or purposely not spoken to. I lost ALL relationships I had (seemingly) strong or otherwise. To this day I suffer from this; it is harder to gain friends later in life. I can count how many friends (apart from my hubby), I have on two fingers and one of those is a somewhat flaky friend.
feelyourlove.com
Freedom = Truth (finding one’s self and its’ consequences)
Many Philosophers see freedom as having “broad personal, social, moral and political implications” (Yalom, 1980, p 216). Some aspects of philosophic freedom could include being your own possibility and projecting your own true self (Guiomar, 2013). One does not reach freedom by chasing it, rather by searching for truth (Guiomar, 2013). In my journey of finding self and being able to use free will to have a sense of freedom, defiantly aligns with this.
I also stand by Yalom (1980) with his idea that, to be aware of creating one’s self and destiny along with their feelings and sufferings is to be aware of their responsibility.
I have been able to identify other moments of my life where I could correlate a sense of relief, happiness and control with the realisation of a truth, a fact, or some knowledge that makes sense to me. An example of this could be the relationship with my mother in law. Nearly four years ago I was able to identify my mother in law as having characteristics of a manipulative narcissist.
Iheartintelligence.com
This has been a journey of some years that I have travelled with my husband. For much of this time there was perhaps some denial about the negative treatment that we would receive at her hand and a sense of obligation to follow the socially established premise of being kind to one’s mother regardless of the quality of the relationship.
This feeling is identified in literature and seems to be common to generations before us. For example, Yalom (1980) states that “throughout the centuries the concept of absolute freedom has always engendered bitter opposition because it has clashed with prevailing world views” (p 217).
This period of time was filled with anxiety, a low sense of self esteem and conflict. When my husband and I reached the conclusion that his mother was indeed someone who was to be avoided, our perceived quality of life increased indescribably and an intangible sense of freedom (freedom of opinion, freedom of movement, freedom to decide how we are treated) lives with us today. Whether or not this revelation is valid in anyone else’s opinion is inconsequential; it is our truth and it has without doubt brought us freedom.
timhillpsychotherapy.com
I could go on and on with this bringing up many more examples of how I feel freedom is. However my strongest feeling of freedom is that it comes with the search of your existential truth and never without consequences.
Hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading.
Thanks for the challenge @sagescrub.
@sagescrub/freedom-challenge-1-what-does-freedom-mean-to-you-sbd-payout-to-winner