Is one ever free? Or is it an unending quest for
an unattainable state of being? What if freedom doesn't even look like we think
it is/should be?
The Puritans came to the United States because
they wished to be free in order to practice their religion. The Europeans who
inhabited North America wished to be free of their colonial power. The
revolutionary war was fought to gain this freedom from the British. Every year
on the fourth of July, we celebrate freedom.
Throughout history, we have on countless
occasions declared and felt free. We have challenged significant barriers;
racism, intolerance, hatred, bondage. We have overcome the obstacles that served to stymie our development and very humanity. But we are still not free, we are tied down, in a different way.
Eli Whitney (ok, let's be honest, an
African-American male really did this) invented the cotton gin which made the
work of farming more efficient. While the work became easier, the farmers
became more dependent on the cotton gin. In the early twentieth century, people
began to shift from transportation by horse to the use of automobile. While
automobiles increased the speed at which people can travel, they also increased
the need for gasoline, something that has turned out to be costly for our
environment. Repairs to automobiles required new skills and technology. We
became increasingly in need of specialized services and increasingly less self
sufficient. The work of a blacksmith, which existed for generations, on the
other hand, was familiar and still allowed for a great degree of freedom. I
could find examples in every generation, whether it be Alexander Graham Bell
and the telephone, electricity, Computers, the internet, etc.
The point is, we have become enslaved to the very
things we look to for freedom. As our dependence grows, we have largely
forgotten about that sense of mental clarity, peace and tranquility that embody
freedom of the mind. As Envogue stated in there song 20+ years ago, "Free
your mind, and the rest will follow." The more that I am able to let go of
the things in my mind that tie me to dependence on man-made items, the more I
will feel free, peaceful and grateful.
I have believed for so long that in order to feel
these things, I must have this or that. If I only can buy a new this or that,
if I can more easily concentrate, if I could get over my migraines, if only my
life worked out the way I believed it could, I would feel free and peaceful and
grateful. That is the delusion. I can feel free, peaceful, and grateful at any
moment in time. I just have to do my very best to let go and God will take care
of it all.
True freedom requires a conscious connection to
God, and not on any outside item.
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