THE POWER OF FREEDOM

We see this power—the power and desire to be free— in 2011 in what the media labeled “the Arab Spring” as we saw many groups of people protesting in request for freedom, to choose their own way, their own leaders, their own values, their own way of life. This is the power to choose one’s own way and to be free in the exercise of one’s basic human powers, those of mind, emotions, speech, and actions.

Actually, as parents we see this power very, very early in the life of a young child. There’s seems to be something innate in human beings that we want to have choice, to choose our own way, to choose what we think and what we feel and what we say, and what we do. We do not lie down and acquiesce easily. Any adult who today passively complies with whatever is requested has been trained by experience and perhaps trauma to give up the need to be oneself, to be a free thinking person.

And so in democracies all around the planet, these happen to be the most basic human “rights” — freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of action. Yes, of course there are limits on these freedom of speech and action—we are not free to destroy or harm others. We are not free to yell “fire” in crowded theaters. And in such cases, these constraints actually support the larger freedom for all. This power that drives us to want to be free is innate in people everywhere and, as a power, it is nearly impossible to squelch.

So why would anyone want to squelch this power? Oh, that’s easy—because it is dangerous! It is messy. It is unpredictable. You do not have to be a control freak to want to control it. Parents and teachers find that things can go along much better if there’s less talk and more compliance to rules. Managers and leaders and governors also can get things done quicker and with less fuss if everyone will just go along with what they want! Actually, this is true for all of us. We just want to do things our way and the power of freedom of others to disagree, dislike, object, act contrary to, reject, criticize, etc. what we want sets up the challenges of life-with-other-humans, to wit, social life.

No wonder we all want to be king (or dictator) and have everything done our way and no wonder we also want freedom to disagree and disobey the kinds and dictators in our lives! Ah, the power of freedom is such an incredible power and obviously it is one not easily handled. And that’s because there are numerous paradoxes about this power.

There is the paradox that we both want to be free and yet contained. In fact, the greatest freedom for driving is to drive where there are roads. The structure of highways enables us to be most

free and to more fully use all of the power of the vehicle at our disposal. The freedom of a train is when it is on the tracks, not under the conditions of being derailed. If you work out at a gym, you know that you are most free when you use your muscles and act in accordance with the mechanical laws of your body and not against those laws. Break those laws and you hurt yourself and that will reduce your freedom.

Yes, you have the freedom to think all kinds of thoughts— you are even free to think stupid, ugly, hurtful, malicious, and self-destructive thoughts. You are that free! But freedom from truth, from the facts, from reality, etc. will exact a price. Though free to think whatever you want and to send whatever thoughts and commands to your nervous system, what you are not free from are the consequences that you create. You have the power to be so free that you can neglect your health, eat junk food, drink yourself drunk night after night, and scoff at anyone who speaks to you about it. You are free to do that. You are not free from the price you will pay for that. Consequences will occur and you are free to experience them and suffer them.

The power of your freedom, all of your freedoms, then, comes with a price. And ignorance of that price will not excuse you from paying the price. How you exercise your freedom powers of thinking, emoting, speaking, acting, relating, etc. will result in consequences. If it didn’t, those powers would not be powers. Yet they are powers— the ability to do, to take action, to make things happen. Yet they are not absolute powers. They are powers that operate within certain constraints or boundaries.

The power of freedom means that you ultimately have the power to decide and choose your way of life and you do that everyday as you choose your thoughts. The questions then before any of us and all of us are these: Are you fully using your freedom for unleashing your highest and best? Are you developing your freedoms so that they are enhanced? Are you enabling others to access and use their freedoms? Are your beliefs, understandings, decisions, etc. supportive of your freedoms? Are you fully using your freedoms for actualizing the best version of you?

If not, find the nearest Neuro-Semanticist and access your Power Zone as well as your matrix of meaning frames that will enrich all your inner freedoms.