Free to be free

Every year this day, we automatically celebrate Independence Day. The day that we got freedom from the British whom we see as foreign people. And collectively we call ourselves Indians. Right? And a Gandhi, a Bhagat Singh or a Subhash Chandra Bose stood to get that freedom. And today we are living on the fruits of that freedom. However, to think of it, do we really have freedom? As a country, or as a family or as an individual?

Freedom of expression, freedom to be happy, freedom to be sad, freedom to love, freedom to share, freedom from fear, freedom to choose, freedom to listen, etc., Think on a personal level. Do you have the above without being stopped by the conditioning you’ve gone through? Can you think of fulfilling your dreams without bothering how the society will think of it? Will you give freedom to your child without thinking about pleasing your relatives or neighbourhood? Would you freely shout out your frustration in the middle of your college get-together without being  gripped by the chains of shame or need to look good?

As per dictionary, Freedom is ‘the state of not being held prisoner or controlled by somebody else’. But aren’t we all controlled by the standards of how we should or shouldn’t be dictated by the coconut or culture or how others think?

So If we can’t be free to do the above, we haven’t attained freedom. Freedom from the need to please others, freedom from past sufferings and embarrassments, freedom to love your spouse without doubting, freedom to allow your children to fly without fear, freedom to trust your friends and freedom to have compassion for all fellow humans on the streets.

So this Independence Day, let’s work on to practice ‘Free to be and Free to act’ and create freedom in and around ourselves. Let’s discover the world of freedom together 😃