Many people, myself included, claim to prefer freedom and choice over restriction. This is not completely true. It is not completely false, either.
What people truly prefer is the illusion of freedom. Making choices is, in fact, difficult. True freedom is the most difficult responsibility in existence. That is why countless humans have such an inherent craving for higher powers and authorities to dictate their purpose and being: it drastically simplifies their lives and thought processes; it makes life manageable.
Decision-making is the most mentally demanding thought process, the most energy-consumptive biological phenomena in the human body, and the most time-consuming computation on the planet. Hypothesizing, simulating, and drawing on past data is what our brains are designed to do. Consequently, they fantasize and conjecture to no end, to such an extent that people come to their wits’ end and burnout from having to make decision after decision after decision.
We Like Being Told How To Live
This is why many people prefer to live by virtue of habits cultivated in their upbringing, or according to the dictates of other authoritative figures – be it idols, priests, God, spirits, voices, songs, books – anything and everything. As long as they do not have to incur the onerous process of making their own decisions and experiencing true freedom.
This is also a method of dodging real responsibility. By following others, we forego responsibility over our own lives, preferring a seat of powerlessness in the game of life. True freedom is, in fact, true power. True freedom is also true responsibility. Most people prefer powerlessness because they would rather not take responsibility.
What is Responsibility?
What does it mean to take responsibility? It means you accept that none of your choices or decisions heretofore have been “right.” It means you give up the very concept of right and wrong, of good and bad. It means that morality is simply a fashion and a fad, not an absolute. It means that God is in you, not external to you, and therefore, you must fashion creation with the utmost care and delicacy.
We humans are brutes and savages. This is not intended to be a derogatory statement insomuch as a reflection of truth, despite the connotations of the words used. We humans have a rich history of conflict, violence, brutality, oppression, and bloodshed. It is nothing to be ashamed of.
No matter how evolved we are mentally, how eloquent and sophisticated our thoughts and tongues, we humans remain beasts. We are animals with higher reasoning capabilities.
The Convenience of our Baser Selves
Many of us play into our primality, ignorant to the true beauty of our birthright as transcendent spirits. Instead, we live and die as beasts of burden.
We do this because it is convenient, because playing into our baser selves takes less effort than cultivating our souls into something more. We accomplish this by distracting ourselves endlessly instead of striving relentlessly for our growth and evolution.
Our distractions can be goals, material aims; they can be pain, they can be happiness, they can be anything the ego can associate with as identity. Any thought can be a distraction.
Humans: Something Less, Something More
When I label most humans as brutes and savages, I naturally include myself. In fact, I target primarily myself in this statement, as I know myself best. Perhaps, I am the greatest of brutes and savages.
I assess my own nature as a human, and peer past the guise of civility I pretend to wear, into the heart or my heart. My words aren’t in condemnation, though they can be construed as such; my words are in respectful recognition of the humbling truth.
It is equally true that as humans, we are afforded the wonderful opportunity to become Paragons of something much greater than our primal selves, to transcend our physical forms and our latent savagery; to rise in spirit and embody a higher purpose. To do so, we must take responsibility for ourselves wholly and completely, as agents charged with our own destinies.
The Effort of Authenticity
To take responsibility and ownership over our own thoughts requires an intense level of conscious focus and effort. Most humans prefer living unconsciously, slaves to habit and conformity. They prefer being cogs to a mindless society and falsely satiating their true needs with hollow, virtual ones.
Recall all the virtual entertainments we whittle our time away with. Consider all the artificial chemicals and synthetically derived additives that comprise so much of our modern diets. Reflect upon the conveniences we mindlessly consume. Think of all the medications that target symptoms rather than forcing us to address our lifestyles with conscientiousness and self-discipline.
This is how we live in a culture that addresses symptoms and never root causes. We go so far as to paint ourselves as victims of circumstance beyond our control. This is how we have come to inhabit a society plagued by incurable ills, despite being given the opportunity of freedom, equipped with the most capable device in creation: the brain.
The Comfort of Disingenuity
In this way, we come to sacrifice our genuine authenticity.
Rather than finding entertainment in our thoughts, we seek it through regaling pastimes, like books, movies, and music.
Rather than finding real emotional fulfillment through ourselves, we seek it out through others.
Rather than expressing true love for others, we convince ourselves physical intimacy and pleasure equates to love.
Rather than seeking truth in the mystery of being, we cling to empirical evidence and hold blindly to the lies and deceits of corrupt religions.
Rather than being shepherds, we choose to be sheep mulling about, grazing idly.
This is comfortable. This is pleasant.
Empowering Ourselves
How can we turn this around? We can start by weaning ourselves off external dependencies and returning the source: our minds. Take time to sit with your thoughts and emotions. Meditate.
Make an effort for self-discipline and self-control. This is an exercise of freedom. Do intermittent fasting from time-to-time. Once a week is a great boon. When choosing what to eat, make a preference to eat natural whole foods: fruits, vegetables, eggs. Eat a lot of natural fiber.
Avoid refined, processed, and synthetic foods: protein powders, sodas of any kind, desserts, boxed foods, and most beverages – including fruit juices! If you like juice, go for cold-pressed juice free of preservatives and coloring. Better yet, eat the whole fruit, or press the juice out yourself.
When you go to the gym, don’t follow a workout plan. Listen to your body. Make up your own exercises. Try moving your body in ways that are comfortable to you. Read about health and nutrition, and see what works best for you, what is most manageable.
Withdraw from organized religion of any kind. These communities tend to be spheres and bubbles filled with people looking more for self-affirmation than true spirituality. Instead, read books on spirituality and philosophy, and draw your own conclusions. Consider if there is a God or if there isn’t a God. Wonder at the universe.
Don’t take a stance for or against anything you read. Try to empathize and understand other people’s perspectives. Take a break from social media. Stop posting and sharing your opinions with everyone. Enjoy the silence as you digest your own knowledge to distill from it wisdom.
Perhaps the greatest exercise of freedom is silently walking away from other people and giving yourself more space to be your natural self. Stop showing off to others. Stop telling everyone what’s going on in your life. Don’t allow the pain and suffering of others to impact your appreciation for life. Enjoy what you experience, then keep it to yourself.
Empower Others
The more you do this, the more you will experience you. The more you experience you, the more you will grow your capacity to love others for who they really are. The clarity of your insights and intuition will become enhanced, and you will see through a lot of the baloney other people trip themselves up on unnecessarily.
Not only will you make healthier choices for yourself, but your confidence, your spirit, your faith will all grow – and inspire others to be their most authentic selves, too. You will be amazed at how many people you can support with the genuine kindness and love that comes from truly finding and being yourself.
Most of us grow up learning to fake it, to be something we’re not. Let’s buck that trend.
Let’s return to being truly free human beings.
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