last two days... I've been part of these interesting conversations... Initially had some pieces to add... but then I got lost... and thought would post them here... to get more from ppl...
1. Topic: freedom...
a bunch of us were having discussion, one of my friends who's been brought up here brings the topic to life... he's simply said... I wouldn't wanna go back and stay in India... and this triggered it...
I asked him, why... he said... coz I can't deal with it... fair enough... he's got a reason... then we all added to it.... that given a choice... we'd wanna go to this country / that country or wherever... yeah India is the place for me...
anywaz... the arguement popped up... of why that place and not here... where we all are right now... and all of us the recent expats... answered unanimously "freedom"... HZ asked us... to define freedom and... why do we feel confined... in this place... immediately few of us came up with random and absolutely idiotic examples... which I personally condemned ... ( these were... lame ones... like... I can drink and drive... I can smoke... and swear... etc... others were beyond the levels of stupidity... hence i refuse to even quote them)... comin back... HZ asked me to quote one example to define, how freedom means someting beyond in India and not here...
I was dumbstruck... all the examples that kept poppin inside my head... were in line with what was poppin out from the others... lame... all of them were lame... all were of them had a similar base... breaking down rules... all of them were bordering themselves between legal & illegal...
I gave up... I told him that in the current context of all the examples being quoted and denied... feedom is not the ability / grant to do anything and everything one desires... but in pure form an absence of fear... an absence of the constant circumstancial fear... a fear of being tested against equality...
... in the end ... I told him that freedom is an emotion and not an expression..., hence I cannot quote an example to prove why not this country or otherwise... I couldn't think of anything better... in the end to close the conversation...
this conversation was stalled for the moment... but I still don't have my answer...
still struggling...
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ROCK ON!!!!!!!!
2 comments:
This reminded me of something which I'd written long back about freedom. It was around 4 pages long write up, full of ideas and thoughts and dreams. Today, I don't even know where it is. However since I'm reminded of it, I'll try to find it out and read it. Must be a great experience to see if a lot has changed or it hasn't.
coming to this post, it's that sort of question that no one else can answer for anyone else. words keep changing their definitions and meanings as we grow up. Words are like pointers. Freedom points towards something that is intangible. When you're free, you may not even realize it. When you're chained, you may even love it. I'm always free in that sense. Loving everything that I do, dream of and work for. Not waiting for that day when I "would be" free of some "invisible shackles" and blah blah. All that sounds stupid. If something has to be, then it is right here and right now amid all the responsibilities etc, otherwise it won't be there ever. Freedom is simple and easy. Smiling all the time, staying away yet staying connected to all, giving everyone love and respect and doing everything to the best of my potential. and most importantly, knowing this that I may not be able to fulfill everyone's expectations yet having this peace that I did my best, was honest in my attempts and somewhere up in the sky, someone knows it and is constantly smiling looking at me and at the end of the day, it's always me and that someone up there. If I can find that peace and conviction within, the external pressures/expectations/responsibilites/so called restrictions just don't matter. It's too beautiful and there's absolutely nothing wrong in striving for it till the last breath. You must have seen the movie called Life is beautiful. that's awesome. and you'd have realized reading this that how all the words have different definitions for different people. From where I'm and what I can see, my definition is confined to my set of experiences and situations I've faced in life or the way I've accosted life and understood it. Nothing can be absolute is a fact. It sometimes does make us feel restless, however perhaps that's the beauty of existence, nothing is absolute and with every rising sun, we can shine brighter for there's no upper limit or threshold to it. And again, you may so totally disagree to every single word I said and still be right at the same time with a complete different definition of freedom. and that's its beauty. perhaps eignma too. to each his own. peace.
One example of freedom is, that in India there's no monarch whose one command can dictate things. And we can criticize our government to any extent & get away with. Democracy is the biggest example of freedom!
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