The Freedom Within

True freedom for me is found in being feral. Unbrushed hair, comfortable shoes, the expectations of the world set aside. We may feel that being presentable or valuable is social, yet it can also just as easily be labeled as a sort of slavery. We become tied to these ideas, hopelessly so.

Good people work, produce, conform to social standards. They are in turn rewarded with the right to consume, enjoy, possess. There is some disconnect there between the things we desire, and how our behavior makes them forever scarce.



Freedom to me is something you cannot regulate, that cannot be enforced or outlined. It is the ability to be yourself outside of these strange lines we draw and live our lives within. I often find my piece of freedom in nature. In the deep woods, there is no master but instinct.

Many feel that freedom is something you fight for, a thing to be earned through struggle. I am of the opinion that the best battle for freedom is inaction at times. It's strange to feel this way, considering there was a time in my life that I protested my government fiercely.

^{Hocking Hills, Ohio}

I underwent financial, spiritual, and bodily harm in an attempt to fight. I suffered cognitive dissonance through believing in such things as the power of voting. I felt there was some answer to find in all this, not realizing that the simplest answers are often the most true.

Freedom was right there all along, but it came with a harsh cost. I had to accept that some people do not actually value freedom, they value comfort most. They would prefer to be told what to do, to not have to think on it all. I am an oppressor if I believe that they should think as I do. I am oppressing myself by believing I have any power to change this.

I find freedom in setting down these tasks, these endless considerations over how the world could be better. Instead, I decide to change reality in the way I can. Perception.

By breaking out of the idea that freedom can be expanded, created, amplified... we actually achieve all of that. No one learns by being told the basis of a lesson, they learn from experience. By actively following my heart, living in my passions, I hopefully leave a door open for anyone else who wants to do the same. I become free from my own odd expectations of the world.

^{My daughter Thea, the freest person I know.}

I've had the joy of watching how this works in motherhood. My daughter questions everything  and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't stressful at times. Yet, I cannot think of a single greater gift I could be given on this path. To have a child that seizes her freedom unwaveringly. I lean into it with all I've got. I surf the chaos of that, and sometimes I get sucked up in the tide.

There is one rule in my home, much like general life. Do not get caught. Apply this to anything, and I believe it stays solid. I give my child some guidelines, but I also tell her how to wiggle out of them.



I am proud that she is polite, considerate, and kind. I am equally as proud that she is headstrong, brave, and cunning. When she lies to me and I know, she gets in trouble, yes. Then I tell her how she could have done better. I can hear the voices of those who would say this is terrible parenting. I can equally envision which ways promote survival in an ever-changing world.

The very idea that there is a clear cut right and wrong is a terrible lie. The commonly agreed on practices are rooted in deception. So, I take my bit of freedom back when I teach my child that gut instinct is the only true north. That in a corrupt world, we should not play by the assigned rules.

I want my kids to have freedom too, the strength to hold their own power in their hands. This line of thinking to me highlights integrity, not blind compliance. My concept of what Thea should do is my own, I respect her enough to believe she should be able to (smartly) challenge that.

^{Staying rooted in what feels right to me.}
I've committed plenty of "crimes", and most of them have revolved around not accepting injustice. In the USA we throw away 60% of our food for example; manufactured scarcity. When I worked in restaurants, we were told to throw away edible food daily, so I "stole" it to save it from the garbage.

Is that a crime, or has society here tricked us into acceptance of criminalizing kind behavior? I found freedom in redistributing that food to those who needed it. In following my own moral compass.

In short, freedom to me is thinking for yourself. Having a sense of identity, of joy, of purpose outside of what we are told to strive for. To idealize our humanity, our own truth. To enjoy the costless beauty over the material. When I live in this part of myself, I feel free from the confines of a world I often disagree with. I feel alive.

This is my response to this week's Weekend Engagement! Thanks for the fun prompts 😁
All photos are my own, taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T100