Today’s pearl is all about living free. Do you understand what living free is,
what is it to you? It will be unwise to try to define what living free is because
it is rather subjective, what might be considered an expression of freedom
to one person, could be totally different to another. We all live and all
come from different backgrounds, whether cultural, religious or sociopolitical.
So, I will not attempt to impose a definition for a group so broad, I will instead
provoke you to think for yourself, and examine your space, your environment,
both mental and physical. Within those parameters, what is an attainable
freedom available to you? How can you harness it, make use of it,
and hang on to it in order to break free from whatever bondage you
might find yourself in. Could it be, you need to start by breaking free from
YOU. Find out what prison you have unwittingly put yourself into, then start
chipping away at your own barricade, slowly but surely, you will be free!
MAH MEKOLLE
(image from hirobonga.com)
pearlsofourlives.com 
This is an excellent topic! We all have different interpretations of the word “freedom”. For a political prisoner, it means one thing. For someone with a physical or mental limitation
, it may mean something else entirely. We usually don’t realize how free we are until we lose all or some of our freedom.
As you imply, the most insidious type of imprisonment is being internally trapped within our own puny egos. As Eckhart Tolle says, the ego thrives on preventing us from living with awareness. Virtually all moderate faiths encourage us to “set ourselves free” by being part of something BIGGER than ourselves. Freedom in a spiritual sense is largely matter of conscious choice. We need to be vigilant and catch ourselves immediately if we find we are not listening and respecting other points of view for instance.
As someone who is in his late sixties, I notice that as many people age they become more narrow and entrenched in various ways of thinking; whereas others seem to open up and experience ‘freedom”. So why is that? What makes one person close up and shut down and another to blossom like a spring flower? What do people think?
Cheers to all and long may we run!
Frank this is such a stimulating commentary and so much food for thought, thank you for blessing me with more reason to stretch my mind.
I will attempt to hazard an opinion on your question by suggesting that the human being/brain is conditioned to protect us. For some people, whether young or older, the defense mechanism of “closing up” (barring any forms or emotional, spiritual, & or physical entry & vulnerability ) is our initial go-to.? If we find that it works, meaning, offers some form of solace, then the tendency is to repeat it each time we have a similar stimulus to run & hide. Some people are wired differently & their flight mechanism is bravado & “openness”. Then you have those who take the time & risk the vulnerability to examine these patterns and over the years grow into true emotional maturity.
I find that who you are as an older individual is who you brought with you into old age, life just happens to have given you many more years to cement that pattern or learn something new.
I dare say happy is he who learns early to free his mind from bondage of life
Nice one Mah!I would also add expect the worst when you decide to break the norms ’cause not everyone will be happen with your “freedom!!
So true mate hahaha