The will that is free is like a child who never has to worry about judgment on how to be. The freedom given constitutes just how much one can become. Yes?
There is vibrancy in a room filled with free will. The ability to do as you please without limitations- exhilarating for the heart, mind, body, and spirit.
One can relax, breathe, and, let go. Just be.
One’s free will may not be the same idea as another’s, however. Each free will must, thus, be protected at the same time of being limited.
Within every being is a unique masterpiece trying to mould into its planned completion before even hardening.
How can we expect duplicity for balance when each of us are not the same?
To gain or obtain freedom is to ask for protection of one’s right to be free.
Free of what or to do what becomes the conundrum.
A time to then, deeply reflect, here.
Can free will be freedom to truly equate? Are these two seen as the same?
Do we speak of free will when we cast vote or chant away for freedom?
While free will is the ask from within, is not freedom from without?
When we seek or demand for freedom, who will then, of those who suggest, get to be granted as freeunder that kingdom or domain? Who will have majority say to deem whatever so? And, if so, how will all be guaranteed sameness of this freedom?
All inclusive? Or, exclusive to those granted?
What would be free of those afforded to move and be about? What would be free for those who must work toward the same? Freedom to do as one pleases? Even for those who must serve the other side waiting upon such servitude?
What would be free of those with armament? Free will to protect? Or, protection of freedom of free will?
Free to protect from whom? Those on the other end practicing freedom to take possession of what perhaps they rightfully believe should be theirs?
What would be of those to have already taken what they believe was their ancestral free will to possess so long ago? Who should say otherwise? Those practicing their freedom to suggest the claimants are incorrect no matter how long roots have been planted?
Fight for freedom. Do I not hear, “Fight for my will to be free”?
If both sides should claim to be right, who is wrong?
Will not freedom require protection on both sides? At all times? Yes?
Is there not an unspoken understanding that the practice of free will is limited to stipulations of what is acceptable under a united front of deemed freedom?
When should one be free to act at will?
How should one be free to act at will?
To arrive, then, at most extreme, why should anyone ever be granted free will at all?
What do we really mean by the very word, free? Free will to be or freedom to be?
Until freedom is understood completely, should we take care of free will as to not arrive to a mistaken fall toward anarchy or tyranny, demanding immunity from or of any restrictions to do as one pleases?
Could we possibly be facing the dilemma that while demanding, seeking, or fighting for freedom, we hold no clear definition or guideline as to its clear stance of what we ask?
I hear the chants for freedom.
I hear, see, smell, taste, and feel the very essential need for this sensation- to be free.
I have desired this very need during so many years of training in understanding of what I truly meant.
I just wanted to do all that I pleased without restrictions. Free to be me. What I hadn’t realized then, was that I was actually asking to be granted free will to be me while needing continued protection of such freedom.
The practicing free will within me did not realize that it was my protected freedom to grant me safe access to any chance of my becoming me.
If freedom protects the free will within, I can see why entity of one becomes problematic with the identity of one.
Entity of the inside versus identity of what is seen on the outside.
Should not our heart, mind, body, and spirit understand the difference between the two?
There is this need, this desire, for independence.
From what?
Are we not always free on the inside up until we must come out?
Is it not only once we step outside of our walls where we then seek protection of our vulnerabilities of who we feel to be?
Is it not what is on our outside portrayed, displayed, and conveyed, that brings judgment for all to either grant us freedom to be or not to be?
Is it not fear of division or separation from control of traditional preservation of a given kingdom that draws those in control to seek continued uniformity for the sake of not just peace and solidarity, but security?
Is it not when we don’t feel to conform with an expected identity of who we are, how we should be, and why we should all comply, where what is within questions, hesitates, and at times, then, desires to rebel or fight against that ask?
Our free will to be within seeks protection for freedom without.
The question brought forth, however, is- Will your free will be granted the freedom it seeks?
And, yet, it is our very vulnerability, the good in us, the innocent in us, that has yet to understand that freedom must have limitations for our own protection of our free will.
Ideally, everyone should be granted freedom to freely practice their own free will. Yes?
Realistically, all free will coming from within aren’t always with good, harmless intentions.
Freedom must then, protect the free will of good, for how can a kingdom manifest into anything sound and clear if the contrary, to disturb and taint, should also be given the same protection?
If I were to take me back during those adolescent years of my chants to desire my own freedom, I would hear the trained self now to utter, “You sure will be thankful as to where you will be compared to where you are at so early in your life still. Be thankful for your restrictions today for they will protect your tomorrows.”
I think back the time my Papa was most absent in my life was when I felt a brief sense of freedom. While feeling a void of presence when Papa decided to take a few months to visit his native country, my resilience turned to the understanding that Mama never practiced power over my choices.
I could finally know the feeling of true freedom.
It felt good at first, to not have anyone upset with my free will to do as I pleased. This, I thought, then, to be freedom.
Since free will was presentably FREE, I would take public bus transportation whichever way I wanted to go or find a ride to wherever I felt I needed to be.
While I will never doubt angels looking after me during my training days of maturity and development, eventually placing me in a blessed life with my husband and children, I see now how much I guardedly misunderstood dereliction for freedom years before.
When no one is on guard to protect your freedom, your free will is out for the taking.
I think to this day of my founded surroundings, had I been around people who meant ill will, the consequences could have been dire.
Unbeknownst to Mama while Papa was away, knowing I was not one to be enticed by any means of mental or physical intoxications or inebriations, I wanted to just observe how others practiced their own free will.
I was like Jasmine in mind and body (minus the elegant attire) of the movie, Aladdin, who found a way to step outside her walls, while dually being Aladdin in heart and spirit, finding joy in hearing and seeing people in humbling walks of life.
Like running to the lakefront homes, public bus transportation got me to pass through affluent, conservative communities while learning to quietly blend in at malls.
Looking at things, I could plan in my mind how I would soon be able to afford clothes for myself once I would be granted age to work (my first paid wage of $3.25 as a courtesy clerk at a grocery store; age 14).
The public bus transportation itself, never ceased to remind me of my found community, where I could silently observe behaviors and mannerisms of people getting on and off the bus, contrary to those I had just also peripherally observed traversing the much more comfortable environments.
When chanced, I could analytically observe the free will of the minds of those who spoke to me. Regardless of what level of education or eloquence of the body presented before me, I read the entrapment of one’s spirit, cautious of the limitations of their freedom to practice free will.
I can honestly say, those at their most deepest golden years were the ones who always glowed with so much fearless wisdom, reminding me of why, just as soon as I was able to comprehend, I found so much priceless value in listening to mature talk around me rather than playing outside.
By the time I had heard my teacher in high school, Mr. Nagel, quote the saying, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”, I understood its meaning well.
Free will does not guarantee one free of consequences. Freedom fights with barriers and barricades constantly to protect.
We shield our children’s development with so much might, trying to give them joy without the encounters of real pain or struggle.
Practicing free will must always be shielded within a kingdom where one can be free while preparing for those days when walls may be breached; one hand builds while the other must be always prepared to protect.
If it is my free will to do as I please, the manner of protection is my level of freedom.
If it is my free will to dress however I feel to, so I shall. Will all parts of the world support me in what many would suggest should be guaranteed freedom?
If it is my free will to speak my mind, so I shall. Will all parts of the world support me in what many would suggest should be guaranteed freedom?
If it is my free will to act and behave as I please, so I shall. Will all parts of the world support me in what many would suggest should be guaranteed freedom?
While my will of choice is free, how does the kingdom or domain I find myself within think to limit me for my own protection or preservation?
Why should my will to be free be restricted by freedom to be?
A child I was.
Little, by little, there is this realization that innocence cannot be forever as the world awaits with their own version of freedom to entice the fragile, vulnerable minds.
When my husband and I both knew it was time for him to talk to our daughters about what males procreatively seek after females, our daughters expressed understandable discomfort.
Such talk is not easy for any girl to have to hear through, but my husband’s delivery of conveyed truth was what I should have also received at their age.
Although it was in sixth grade where I was given the school-version explanation, I found myself around eighth grade students in junior high school during my seventh grade year who laughed to find I had yet to experience such.
Straight talk would have had me ready for a better reaction. Had I known it was my preservation that stood me above others, I may have not had been otherwise convinced I was the one behind.
Sheltered, I hadn’t much preparation to understand the reason why.
I recall Mama walking in the living room area of a basement we had resided in, clearly expressing uneasiness before asking me if I knew about the birds and the bees.
Feeling her discomfort, I immediately said, “Yes.” (Of course I knew about the birds and the bees!). Mama quickly left to go to another room.
That was all the talk I had from either Mama or Papa about male and female engagement, Papa having said nothing in addition, perhaps thinking Mama had completed that very part for my following chapters ahead.
Needless to say, having my own uneasiness for feeling to never get this part right, I had pushed the responsibility to my husband, the way I had hoped for myself.
My husband’s talk did not go the birds and the bees route.
As my daughters sat and listened, all I could do was be grateful they were receiving such a father’s perspective and advice.
Noticing the uneasiness in the room, I realized that perhaps Papa’s discomfort would have been worse than Mama’s.
I am thankful for my husband to have pushed through for I know as a father, they protect within their nest until flight where only of training remembered is hoped to have been grasped for life.
I realize now how much I fought for freedom, the will to be free from the kingdom I found myself placed in.
I believe the greatest fear is when having said something perhaps 99 times thinking not to repeat the forewarn again, would lead to the regret that had it been said just once more, the message would have stuck.
There were times as a very young adolescent where we felt comforted when our parents were there to protect us. And, then, there may have been a time where you Tweeted somewhere along the line, “most annoying person ever!” indirectly to vent out dislike for being treated like a child even though that’s exactly and factually what you still were at that time.
Funny.
It isn’t until my mature years, I would say, personally, starting late into my thirties, where I started to fully understand and appreciate correction for the right direction.
Of course, I thankfully grew up along the way as well. Considering the sources of suggestions on how to practice freedom is much more automatic now.
Just because someone gives you an advice, you don’t have to take it. That’s that free will, while still at hand, understanding the needed limitations of one’s freedom to take or do without what the world has to offer.
An urge of rebellion may seem free, but run with no thought of consequence and the take of your innocence could be costly.
I recall yet another question a professor asked me I had mentioned in an earlier reflection. “Would you trust a plumber to perform surgery on you?”
I had said yes then to make a point that if a person believes they can do something, they should be able to and granted the same wage as another.
I rescind that answer much later in my years now.
All have a given training opportunity to practice free will to be.
And, yet, each of our training is specifically created to serve our own purpose.
Perhaps if, without a surgeon close by, and the best option I had to open me up to save my life was a plumber, then, yes.
Otherwise, I’ll take What kind of doctor is this? for $500, please, Alex (Trebek).
Some understandably want it easy. Check in. Check out.
Do as we please. Free will.
Why not? We mean no harm.
And, then, it’s as if I hear my own voice speaking to my children to remind, “It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s that I don’t trust the world around you.”
Limited freedom to safely and securely practice free will.
There is that moment where you look at those who protect our freedom, whether in heart, mind, body, or spirit, where we then hold in gratitude to be able to- Breathe. Relax. Let go.
Our walls are protected so that within, we indeed, are free.
A Jasmine or an Aladdin, the will to be free seeks freedom to be.
The world has yet to figure out how to equally serve both.
