Perhaps this would have been better saved for July 4th, but I had to share now. What does freedom mean to you? Out of fear of starting off like a college application essay, I will reiterate Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition: “the quality or state of being free: as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action, or liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another.”
Rather than following the eloquent description above, most of us define freedom basically as, “doing what I want, when I want.” This rationale works for characterizing how we want our job to feel, luxury items, vacation, dining, and per my discussion with a Marine friend of mine, the absence of tyranny presiding over us. But is doing as we please truly freedom?
If I’m a drug addict with money and resources to supply my habit, and I desperately want to quit but am unable to do so, then how am I free? Sure, I can get what I want when I want, but if my addiction controls me, then I am bound by the shackles of my uncontrollable desire. If I’m trying to be more fit, yet I can’t look away from the fries and doughnuts because the money’s in my pocket and they just look so good (we’ve all been here), then I’m not truly free. My desire owns me. Lastly, and relevant to our current political climate (irrespective of party affiliation), if I vote for the most popular person simply because everyone else is, then I’m not free either. While exercising my freedom to vote, I’m still being moved by the herd mentality.
So what is true freedom? We are only free if we are in control of our response to circumstances we can’t control. We are only free if we are not bound by our compulsions. We are only free if we control our desire, rather than our desire controlling us. Why is this so pure? Simply because it relies not on outer influences, but is inspired from within. That freedom cannot be shaken.
People have asked me how I became a vegetarian over night in college, how I quit drinking over night just after college, how I quit caffeine over night just a few months ago, and how I have stuck to daily meditation for 18 years. I simply say that I was not coerced into doing one thing or another…I used my freedom to choose what is best for me. Some might say, “But isn’t it a restricted way of life?” It absolutely is if the only thing that moved me down this path was an external influence, while the desires were actually steaming up from within. But my freedom lies in the fact that I can look at them, appreciate my prior experiences and their value for others, and have absolutely no desire for them. I don’t have to live with regret. I’m not saying do as I do – I’m saying we all have this power within us. Apply it to your own circumstances.
Whatever your faith or not, make meditation a daily part of your life, and you will own your desires rather than them owning you. It allows us to still our mind to concentrate our energy on what we truly want in life. Let us all aim for this pure freedom.