How I Understand Freedom
Dr Shweta Bahety
BHMS (Gold Medalist), FCAH MD Scholar.
Freedom: this one word carries the essence of one’s being.
Freedom: the liberation, the independence is that one thing that EVERY creature craves to attain, be it a small fish in the aquarium or the domesticated colorful canaries, or the animals in the zoo, or our Rapunzel in her tower.
To take decisions by oneself, to have a taste of life like never before. As the famous lyrics convey “What a Wonderful World!”
We are indeed privileged to be free from the external restrictions in current times to a great extent. But again, are we really free?
Freedom seems to be very similar to happiness, something we keep on pursuing, without really knowing, we have attained it or not.
Every one has their own freedom to attain: freedom from internal conflicts, from own past experiences on which one constantly dwells, from that lingering guilt, from many imaginary fears, from self -pity, from being controlled by own habits. These are the mesh of webs we often get entangled in.
Freedom is that state of mind one attains in which one is unfettered from the worldly anxieties and issues.
Making a shift from self-pity to taking up self-accountability.
Every choice is yours and every consequence that follows from it is also yours. Mistakes, learnings and success is all yours.
Now, this is a challenge: to break free from that constant whisper of self-doubt and the cocoon of comfort that provides much solace before daring to make that final move to attain that much longed destination.
A famous saying says: “Birds in a cage think that flying is an illness”.
To acknowledge that there are a whole lot of possibilities in the first place is freedom.
To be able to take that very first step forward is freedom. It is a journey I would say with many stops which will come in the way.
This same pattern can be reflected in each facet of our existence, be it education, health and fitness, finances, any skill development, or it may be a simple conversation with a stranger.
Freedom without being fragile and vulnerable is the key here.
Let’s not confuse freedom with a complete lack of structure or making haphazard choices.
Today, we speak of being free from waged working hours, freedom from pressures and timelines, but may be somewhere down the line, there are certain things that get eroded like commitment, lack of structure and many a times discipline gets compromised.
This is not freedom; it is a spoiler alert! A set of values, a fixed schedule and a clarity of mind give a better way to navigate.
To make a wiser choice for your health, expenses, indulgences might appear restrictive, sometimes even painful but are actually liberating as these decisions are guided by discipline.
In my opinion, freedom is to be achieved by taking steps and being grateful for what has been achieved so far and then, to act responsibly by the virtue of this precious gift!
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