Day 4: Freedom

Day 4: June 9, 2012

Today I am very thankful for my freedom.

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” ~Cynthia Ozick

Thank goodness I don’t wake up and dread.  I look forward waking up because I truly love my life; all of it.  I love the life I live, because I live the life I love.  I don’t play victim to circumstance.  I have been blessed with opportunity upon opportunity, and I see the world as one gigantic playground. 

This is not so for all. 

• Today, throughout the world, around 215 million children work, many full-time.
• There are beween 10-20 million people in prison.
• birds in cages
• Women are not allowed to vote at all in Saudi Arabia and Vatican City
• It is estimated that ¼ of adults (in the US) suffer from a psychological disorder.
• These countries are rated the worst in terms of respecting freedom of speech : Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
• Several countires are « of particular concern » in terms of freedom of religion
• The Huff Post lists the Least Free Countries in the world.

 What is freedom anyway?

Philosophers have been pondering this question for thousands of years.  It’s ambiguous though and there’s no freedom formula.  Some people might view the opportunity to learn in a school as « free » while others might argue that sitting in a classroom (for seven hours a day for 13 years) violates autonomy.

To answer my own question:

Freedom means that I have the opportunity to exercise choice.  When I make choices that better mankind, and myself I feel good.  When I don’t, I feel bad.  Access to choice lets me rise and fall; it leads me to expansion and connection. 

I have been looking for my cause for some time.  Writing these posts has me opening up.  I recommend it. 

What is freedom to you? 

I would love hear what you think.

"The purpose of freedom is to create it for others." 
     — Bernard Malamud