The Enemy of Freedom

I’ve always wondered what it means to be truly free

I hear people talk about freedom or I read it in a book and I think “what exactly is freedom?”

When I came across the picture above on pinterest.com, I instantly thought “true but almost impossible”

Are we ever truly free from anything, even that which supposedly makes us genuinely happy?

I’ve often tried to paint a picture of what absolute freedom is to me and I always come up with different images; to live sin free, to be able to excel easily at my career, to be extremely wealthy, to fund a charity that feeds and clothes over a thousand people daily, to be able to go to any place I want at any time not worrying about the cost of travel and the list goes on.

But is that really freedom or just a desire for fulfillment? Do they complement each other or are totally different?

From the first part of the image above, I gathered that “the enemy of freedom is responsibility” because can you really do whatever you like?

This may be funny but think about it, “what if the things that make me feel free will inevitably affect the lives of others I should cater to?”

For instance, if I’m married but because I’m a Makeup artist who specializes in costume/theatre Makeup and I love adventure and travel, I just get up, pack up my bags and decide to join a circus in America or Moulin Rouge in France and leave my family behind because that is what makes me happy or free? Really?

My point is I’m not sure there is absolute freedom; we remain slaves to our beliefs, society, responsibilities and expectations others have of us. Can we ever be truly rid of any external influences or control?

In spite of these thoughts, I'm not cynical or hopeless- I don’t believe anyone should sit down and dwell in frustration, darkness and anger; I believe that you can make a change if you’re not happy with where you are; I believe that even as we try to carry out our responsibilities we should aim for progress and peace of mind and I believe beyond a doubt that every human was created with ‘a void’ that can be filled only by fulfilling your purpose or living your dream. *(however a lot of people have got the purpose thing twisted but it’s not my calling to correct that in this post).