Freedom, Between Want and Need

It’s easy enough to declare your freedom online. Typing things is low effort, as low effort as thinking them. The hard part is distinguishing between what is freedom and what is something else.

I, for instance, am looking forward to not waking up at dawn to go to work. I’m looking forward to not having an 11 or so hour day, 5 days a week. I’m looking forward to traveling. I love to order food instead of cook, because I’m tired as hell when I get off work. I like to play video games and sit around in my sweats, watch movies and eat shaved ice.

Spiritual work will give me at least some of the freedom to do that.

But it does beg a question: are these freedom?

No, they’re not, they’re just things I want to do.

They’re not even the side effects of freedom. They have nothing to do with freedom. They’re just what feels like freedom when you’re used to working in the 9-5 world.

I’ve seen people defending those things as freedoms, or proof of being free. You never have to prove you’re free (and in fact, you can’t.)

Loves, freedom happens inside the spirit. Freedom is no longer living with that little voice that tells you that you have to comply or drives you to do things because you are afraid, because you are compelled by desire, because you’re enraged, or because otherwise you’ll be depressed. Freedom is knowing that societies are a big game we play with each other, and that you don’t have to play by the rules.

But more importantly, freedom is the capacity to be what is needed, and the ability to distinguish between what you want to do and freedom.

It’s freedom you need.