Thursday, August 14, 2008

Happily Free

What does freedom really mean? 
I read this really interesting article in the Times of India a few weeks back about freedom. 
The wheel is considered to be one of the ground breaking inventions that man has ever made. It took us places and it still does but we would not like to have wheels without brakes! 
Imagine getting a cool sports car that goes from zero to a hundred and fifty in a couple of seconds but does not have any braking system! 
Even the wildest and the most inebriated drivers would not like to have something that does not stop! 
I think after the first few speeding tickets, freedom becomes more of a choice to stop than the choice to go on! 

It makes me very proud sometimes to stand under the Australian sky and say that I am free to do whatever I want! However at times when I am faced with too many choices, I call up my mom and cry on the phone. It is really funny to see yourself in  both the roles. There are moments when you think that life should have just come as a set menu. It would not be so exciting but at least it would be secure. 

This week, all the girls from the postgrad room here had organized a "girl's night out". It started with four of us getting lost and going round in a loop around the motorway because none of us could read the map right! Anyway, when I was chatting with all of them I realized how powerful and free women can be. One of us has been traveling around since she was seventeen. Originally from Latin America, she traveled her way around working for various organizations from Mexico, Sweden and a few other countries finally settling in Australia. It fills me with respect and dreams when I see someone like her. At the same time, all of them thought and spoke out of their obligations as mothers and wives. Some of them had left their babies in daddy's care just for this special night out!

Sometimes, just because you are scared of losing your freedom, you miss out on some of the happiest experiences of life. This is when freedom really ties you down. 
I think being free is a big responsibility in itself. Where you have to constantly think of the consequences of your actions and how your life could change because of the choices you make. Some reactions are irreversible and more often than not it leaves you less innocent! It gets you bored because there is nothing new that you could try! It makes you old sooner and it puts this huge burden on your heart that I cannot even describe in words. 

You need a very flexible ego to be happily free. :) 
Being without one is even better for it makes you look at your sixes and dot balls with equal ( or no) passion. :)

It helps and it hurts but if you just know when to stop, I think it is a beautiful journey!

7 comments:

AJ said...

I loved the sports-car-brake analogy.. I have been an advocate of complete and absolute freedom. May be I need to rethink ?.. Or may be what you are saying really reinforces (in great words, btw) what I believe in.. we need our brakes, not stop signs all around!

I love the responsibility of absolute freedom, btw !

--Ajay

Saee said...

@Ajay
Yeah..I agree,,in an ideal world there would be no stop signs..but then since we are a mixture of different mesh sizes :P we need them!
I love the responsibility too..but sometimes it gets really annoying! I don't like too many choices. :)

शिरीष said...

HiSai
This is simply beautiful!
Day by day your posts are becoming more and more mature. This is because now you are experiencing more with your freedom. You are away from home,from your dear ones,friends. You are literally creating new relationships and a new world around you that too with absolute freedom! You have realised freedom upto it's core and hece are in a position to comment.
The concept of wheel is befitting.Comparison of sprts car is wonderful. For these speeding cars not only breaks are important but also timely wheel alignment and wheel balancing are also important. If you dont do these the car will loose the track.
The conscious or Sadvivek Budhhi plays the roles of breaks,wheel alignment and balancing.

Chhan Khaughar said...

awesome post....I really liked the analogy of the wheels and brakes....I loved the part of wheel alignment that Kaka added too :)

Saee said...

@ Ba
Thanks for the addition.
@ Pooh
Kashiyes.?? Long time!!! Skypuya lawkarach. ;)

Junius said...

/-You need a very flexible ego to be happily free.
hehe...but if you keep bending urself, is it really freedom???

Saee said...

Yes it is!!
I think that the feeling of being free most of the times is a pseudo feeling. If you want to be really free, you should be free from your ego too!! =)