Exploring Freedom Courtesy of Ben Heine
It’s been a good 5 months now since I left my home in Shanghai, China to attend university in Missouri. Being away from home and living on my own has taught me a lot in regard to personal freedom.
Because my current college courses are scattered around campus I spend a fair amount of time walking from class to class. More often than not, I spend this time in deep reflection. When I’m walking I can’t help but feel immensely grateful for the freedom I posses.
Today I’d like to share with you my insights on freedom and our actions.
What Is Freedom?
I’ve spent a great deal of time lately thinking about freedom and personal responsibility, and how our choices affect our reality. Now when I say freedom I’m not talking about freedom of speech, but rather our ability to create the life that you desire.
If you were to ask a person if they were “free” I’m betting they would likely respond with an commanding yes. But the truth is, many give their freedom and power away without even knowing so.
Far to many people live life under the impression that they are powerless, which in turn makes one a slave to the conditioning of the world. When you believe you have no power in creating your reality you remain stuck in a passionless and misery filled state. I’ve been in that situation many times before, and it’s definitely no fun. Even now, when I’m feeling down, I occasionally have moments in which I feel powerless, but it doesn’t take long before I snap out of that disempowering state of mind.
For definitional purposes, freedom is the ability to control the way you view the world. Freedom is having the power to view reality from a variety of empowering lenses, rather than succumbing to the negativity that can be found in everyday life. Freedom is having the courage to take full responsibility for your thoughts and actions even if you’re not where you want to be. Freedom is bliss.
Quit Giving Your Power Away
Too often we become slaves of society rather than being the creative individuals that we are. Too often we give our power and freedom away to people and events outside of our control, whether that be family, friends, or even your career. What we frequently forget however, is that by doing so we unknowingly block the path of happiness and success.
Growing up, I would often give my power away to others. I sat back and waited for everything to just fall into my lap. I would have people wait on me instead of taking initiative myself. I’d have people do things for me instead of learning for later reference. Unfortunately, this way of thinking is fairly common in today’s world. It wasn’t until I realized how much of life I had been missing that I began expressing my freedom in beneficial ways, such as running this blog.
The world in which you live in, is the direct result of your thoughts and actions. That might be a bit overwhelming to grasp, but the truth isn’t always easy to understand. Your reality is created from your thoughts and your beliefs, all that exists comes from within. When you attach yourself to the conditioning of the world you hinder your ability to be free. Certain aspects of social conditioning are obviously inevitable, but being able to switch perspectives on your own free will is vital. Quit giving your power away.
Personal Responsibility
Choosing to take 100 percent responsibility for your life is no easy feat, but it is an essential component of conscious growth. Many would rather rely on the illusion of security instead of embracing the true power that they contain.
During my high school years, I was fortunate to have parents who allowed me to exercise a solid amount of freedom for my age. I gained their trust and was rewarded with the ability to do things many of my friends could not. In Shanghai, there is no drinking age and going to “clubs” is a very popular high school activity. For kids in high school, this privilege can quickly become abused. Being exposed to the freedom of drinking at a young age, allowed me to have a more mature outlook on drinking later on in life. While I wasn’t responsible early on, I quickly came to understand the importance of exercising freedom properly.
Does that mean I don’t mistakes? Of course not. I’ve had several parties here in college where I went overboard, yet I’ve learned a great deal from pushing my freedom to it’s boundaries. When I mess up, I do my best to take full responsibility. I try to avoid putting blame on others because I know I’m in complete control of my life. Admittedly, I would love to place blame on others at times, but that only puts up a false wall of security. I may not be able to control everything that happens in my life, yet my reality is from my own doing. Period.
When you assume complete responsibility for your life, you enable yourself to make massive change rather than patch a band aid over a reoccurring pattern that you wish to change. If you want to experience financial abundance know that you are responsible for creating enough value to meet your needs. If you want to attract better and more loving relationships into your reality know that it’s up to you to find them. If you want to have energy and experience great health you must make that a priority in your everyday life.
Change begins with you.
Exploring Freedom
Learning to experience freedom isn’t always easy. It’s sometimes simple to forget how magnificent you really are. Each day make a conscious effort to use your freedom in ways that benefit humanity.
Experience each moment and appreciate the goodness in you. Let your emotions and thoughts flow. Don’t be afraid to falter. Stop living in such a powerless state of mind.
You have the ability to move the earth but only if you embrace the freedom to do so. To shine you must be free. There’s a choice to be made in everything you think and do. How do you express you freedom? What ways are you changing the world? Please share in the comments.
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Hi Bud.
Encouraging post!
I think a lot of people who willingly read this blog have an internal locus of control and understand the concept of personal responsibility, and I’m definitely one of those people. But you’re right, the feeling of control is not constant. For me, that feeling is volatile. I’m sure a lot of people can relate to me on that point. A lot of us have a bad habit of unknowingly giving control.
I would like to question something, however. What if complete control is overrated or even impossible, for that matter? Perhaps we are giving up control in the wrong places and trying to gain control in the wrong places as well. Does freedom really mean full control?
Hey Valerie:
Thanks for stopping by! You bring up some solid points in your comment so hopefully I can respond accordingly.
I think power and control are two different things in a sense. Perhaps I did not differentiate the two enough. When I say it’s important to be free, I don’t mean having control over everything per se, but rather having the ability to be aware (of even the things you “can’t control.”
By being “free”, I’m not suggesting that you will never be sad.. angry.. or even have moments of despair. That would be silly and naive. What I’m saying is, understanding that you have a choice in everything you do is imperative for growth, and sometimes we forget that we do (I being included.)
You can’t always control your emotions.. but you can always try to understand them. Developing awareness allows for better clarity of the mind and enables you to realize the magnificence we each have.
Being free, is the opposite of being obsessed with control. Control comes from insecurity. Being free means acknowledging what is and having the ability to flow with the emotions we feel. Yet being free doesn’t mean you remain powerless to your thoughts and actions.
If complete control is what you search for, you will soon be running on an empty tank.
Valerie! I hope I actually answered your question! haha
Hi Bud,
You did answer my question… Thanks! Well I agree with you on building awareness and control being from insecurity. However, I think in our quest for freedom and happiness, we might get caught up in the “control” bit. Some degree of self-control is necessary, but where does the line end? This is what’s unclear because it varies from person to person, IMO.
Anyway, that’s something I’ve had to contend with. I don’t know if I’m making any sense on that point. I guess I’m saying that because I read a whole bunch of blogs and a recurring theme I see is control.
Financial freedom is huge too. It makes me feel so sad to see people getting into debt by buying things they don’t need (flash cars, tvs etc) on higher purchase. Then they get stuck in jobs they often don’t like paying off that stuff they don’t need.
I’ve done my share of traveling and will do again but at the moment I’m staying in one place as it’s the right thing for my family and the 3 kids. But we’re not stuck, we’re free. If we wanted to take off and go anywhere in the world we could. You can’t beat the feeling of freedom:)
Keep up the great writing. I love your family photo!
Valerie:
Glad I was able to write a coherent response
Control is most certainly an interesting topic to think about.
@Annabel: Thanks for stopping by! My intentions are to set up my life so that I’m financially free. It’s gonna take a lot of work.. but I’m up for the challenge. I’m glad you and your family are able to do what you please.
In regard to my photo that is of me and my birthparents.. Read my post on” unconditional love “
Hey Bud!
I like this post a lot. This goes hand-in-hand with the idea that you are entirely responsible for your inner state at all times – you alone have the freedom to dictate how you feel and what you do in any given moment. Too many people give their power away by letting externalities define who they are instead of taking the responsibility to dictate their own state.
At all times, I like to remember this: it’s all in my hands. Everything about my life rests in my hands. THAT is freedom.
Thanks Brett: I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Looking back, it was a bit brief and a bunch of concepts are still flowing through my head. Perhaps I’ll revisit them at a later time.
Love your definition of freedom. Checking out your blog now.
Empowering blog post here. I believe personal responsibility is very important. We all have choices to make in our life, and these choices have power. The ability to take full responsibility of this is a very life changing and fulfilling experience.
Peace,
Baker
great post, Bud! Funny, we’re totally on the same wavelength. Did you see my latest? HA! This masterminding is good stuff!
Have a great weekend!
Bud,
I think freedom is really about freeing yourself from the desires of others and doing what you want to do. It’s about not constantly feeling like you need to please everybody. In fact it’s essentially accepting the fact that the matrix no long has you and you have the ability to shape reality as you see fit.
Mate, you are destined for great things.
A lot of wisdom at a really young age. I’m jelous, all the best.
Hi Bud, you’ve really highlighted something important and empowering about freedom, which is personal responsibility. Responsible freedom means, as you mentioned, taking responsibility not only for your beliefs, attitudes, perspectives and mindsets, but also for your faults, mistakes, and missteps. I know a lot of people your age who really embrace their new found freedom (away at college, say) but the personal responsibility part as you’ve highlighted hasn’t yet kicked in. What would you say helped you realize this? I know your parents gave you some freedom before college but there has to be a little more to it… I’m just curious! Thanks for sharing this really well-written, thoughtful article.
Cheers,
Miche
Hey Baker! Yeah you’re right dude! Just curious.. how have you taken responsibility in your life?
@Brian it must be our phone calls.. I’m excited to see whats in store man.
@Srinivas: Absolutely dude. We must be ” the change we wish to see”!
@johnny: shucks man you made me blush.
@Miche: Good questions! And thanks for your comment! This first post was a bit short as that was all I was inspired to write at the time, but I think I might do a follow up in the next few days. In regard to my own personal freedom, I look at the choices I make a little differently than most of my peers. Although I still make a TON of mistakes, I try to view each one from an empowering perspective. I still have a lot of learning to do.. that’s what makes my journey so fun.
Hey there Bud,
I haven’t been here for a good while now, been busy with setting up my own blog.
I really liked what you said, especially the part on taking responsibility on our lives. And our actions. One thing that often happened to me is, when participating in a group activity and some of the group members don’t put all the effort in the project (something that almost always happens) then, knowing that with some effort I could save the thing, rather say “you know what, when you are not working hard, why would I?”. Now I realize this is one of the best examples for laziness. When others are not being responsible, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t, either.
Sorry if what I just said was a little bit off topic, I just had to write this down somewhere
Freedom, strength, difficulties are some things that I would really like to gain a deeper understanding of.
Don’t blush Bud, Jonny’s right.
Merry Christmas