What it is to be free?

Freedom, liberty, equality – the most important trinity of concepts. We have all talked about them or read them sometime, but what makes these concept reflect into our personalities? How can we deduce that are we liberals or not? Are we supporters of equality as a concept or as a value?

We all want to live in a “just” society, we work to be happy, we run everyday so that we can find trace of that little smile that makes our heart jump, that look into the eyes of our family that says love without actually saying it. Most spiritual leaders will often say that “happiness is within you” but can we be happy without this trinity of values?

I have always thought of equality as something that gives us equal opportunities but not as something that makes me to go extra mile to ensure opportunities for others; my concept was flawed with irregularities.

I have considered myself earlier as an open minded person but now when I look back I have noticed I missed an important aspect of being open minded. We think or at least I thought that open minded means the ability to accept something without reacting to it but now I feel it’s the ability of one to change their opinion when presented with new facts, researches and evidences.

Liberty and freedom as a value, I say value, because I practice it consciously everyday, values are not something that you get like enlightenment but it’s something you do everyday, every second for the rest of you life. They have made me to accept diversity and moreover understand diversity. Diversity of not just physical realm but also of mental realm. I have tried and kept trying to understand the opinions that I am totally against of. Not to accept them blindly but to scrutinise them logically because bad ideas can’t stand the test of logic and reasoning.

So what it is to be free? I think freedom implies freedom from ones own thought of limited experience and exposure. Then comes freedom to do something that we want to do. When we become free from ourselves we become an observant, we don’t let the information just go into our cognition and become a follower of it. Likewise, we become free from our own emotions, I am not saying to be apathetic, but when we become a watcher of our own emotions that is the very moment be achieve calmness and peace. We don’t act on impulses and desires but we act on a decision which allows us to judge the impact of our actions on ourselves and on others as well. And that is where empathy and sympathy grows in that very environment of watchfulness.

So yes, I do believe that freedom is the primary requirement for us to be just, equal, and allow freedom to others. If we are not free from our own prejudices, then, leave equality we will not be able to treat ourselves with dignity. Which is the whole point, dignity for ourselves and for others.