Are we free men or are we all slaves?

“I prefer dangerous freedom of peaceful slavery.” Thomas Jefferson

I ponder this thought and yet still find myself no closer to a conclusion. Are we free or is the freedom that we believe to occupy falsely perceived by ourselves to make us feel more at peace? Slavery has passed and I am grateful for the freedoms we have now but as I free my own mind from self-inflicted slavery, I fear that I still seek out more freedoms.

This fear stems from thoughts about how much a slave I still am in my own life. I have a grand desire for a life of freedom and the thought of being restricted, harnessed, or confined concerns me. I desire not to be laying on my death bed wondering how much more I could have experienced in this life. If only I hadn’t stayed back late at work so often or if I lessened my concern for the need of money and material possessions that drove me to live beyond the present. Money is only a means to an end but what end would it be with an end of regret?

“Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau

We have each been granted one life to do as we please. If we are indeed reincarnated then may we will be blessed with another, however in knowing this perhaps we would not use the time we have with as much vigour and passion. If we know that there will always be more we may not be as grateful for what we have now. Taking for granted this life in mere hope for something better next time.

The pleasures of our lives are much less enjoyed if we don’t awaken ourselves to the now. Think about the last meal you ate, how much of it did you truly savour? Now think about going hungry for 10 days, how much more would you enjoy that meal now? Would you still scoff it down out of greed or a would a lacking mindset blur the meal in front of you? It is in thoughts like these that I wonder and fear how I would behave. If my behaviour were poorly, without appreciation, than perhaps I am more a slave than I thought.

 “Slavery and freedom can not exist together.” Ernestine Rose

Slavery is a practice or system for owning slaves. To be a slave you are expected to work very hard without proper remuneration of appreciation. I have worked in large companies that in my opinion expect a heck of a lot from their staff yet lack to offer sufficient pay. And in most part lack no concern of effort towards appreciating them for the value the truly bring. While there was exchange of time for money the money that is received is barely enough to live in the society we have created around us. Is this fair? It is neither fair nor unfair, it simply is!

If slavery were still legal then I would expect the conditions above would be a lot worse. I would also expect that while the reward may seem low to us now, in slavery we would not have near the quality of life that we have available now. We therefore must be grateful. Not one of us is owned by a company, we are merely employed. We don’t have a master to rule us, our master is just a boss. An equal who much like the lowest level staff trade time for money. However, it are these systems that have been built by men, that now enslave us. While no one enslaves us directly, can we become slaves to the systems created by such men?

I don’t believe any man or women can claim to be truly free if they work a job. Even if that job is one that they enjoy and that offers greater remuneration or appreciation. Reporting to someone higher up or clocking in and out at set times is not freedom. Freedom is the ability to act, think and speak as one wants, therefore working for another will restrict our ability in be truly free. There is a difference between working with another and working for another.

I believe freedom is held within time. If you own your time and within that time you can act, think and speak as you wish then you have freedom. In my opinion a job will not give you this. If the job is simply a means to an end, a way to buy you a higher quality of life than in that time you forfeit, you must make compromise for what in return you receive. If that quality of life satisfies your soul than one would be mistaken to desire any change. Yet if we look around us, there are many unsatisfied and lost souls, I was one of them yet now seek the path of discovery.

It is also in what we do with our reward that can either enslave us further or move us towards greater freedom. If one is unsatisfied with their work and the quality of life they have, one will likely use the reward that they receive from work in ways that don’t provide any release from the system but only provide temporary release from how the presently feel. This comes in forms of buying stuff to help temporarily raise our level of happiness. Because the present goes as fast as it comes, a reward that is spent on a feeling that is only momentary, means our level of happiness will quickly return to where it was. And so the cycle continues.

This is why I suggest that we must all be mindful of how we spend the fruits of our labour, and importantly, the time we still have that is not owned or in someway controlled by another. It is in the experiences we have in life that provide longer-term, raised levels of fulfilment and satisfaction, not in possessions. Time spent on self-development and learning will provide greater long term benefits than time spent on wasteful activities.

“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.” Fredrick Douglass

It is in learning and in self development that we grow and evolve. It is in the process that we realise our level or awareness to everything in life. We become more attuned with what it means to live and be human. Time spent here will bring us more freedom. We live now in a world that we all have greater access to more knowledge. Our ability to personally develop is phenomenal – it is life changing.

It is because of the rise of the information age that younger generations are now more aware and more knowledgeable then ever before. It is these younger generations that are leading the way to what it really means to be free. Yes, they still have a great deal to learn and much wisdom to grow, and this will come. As on the path to freedom and with wish to avoid, as best as possible, any form of slavery along the way, an authentic life emerges to oneself more than any other path that exists. The greater our knowledge the greater our ability to free ourselves.

If we are free from a job or being controlled by another than we have moved one step closer towards absolute freedom. People aren’t made to work like robots, doing repetitive tasks that lack diversity or advancement. We are born to evolve; we are born to create. This raises our need for knowledge and need for experience. Before we can begin to grasp such a dreamy existence we must first aim to free our minds. It is often within the constraints of our own minds that we lack the ability to walk a path more unique to ourselves.

“We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind.” Marcus Garvey

Falling victim to being ruled by forces that we are not even aware. This is our minds effort to protect us, yet in protection it often enslaves us. We as humans have all been domesticated. Just as puppies are trained to be well behaved dogs that can exist within a family unit, so are we trained, to fit into society. However, living a conformed life is not what it means to be human we have been created with a desire for much more.

This is why if we wish to truly become more free we must journey on a path of self-discovery. We must immerse ourselves into personal development. We must open the awareness within our minds and begin to remove the fog that covers the path. As we partake in this growth journey we will welcome in greater experiences, awaken opportunities to serve more deeply, reveal higher levels of significance, and discover more freedom.

To bound forward on a path and to living a life more authentic to ourselves we will discover freedom. It may be seen that we must make certain sacrifices now in order to have greater freedoms in life later but this but this needn’t be the case. We must not compromise on our values or remain to being slaves in the present. We should not have to carry a burden of 20 to 40 years of slavery to receive freedom there after, we deserve it today.

The sooner you become awake to who you really are and to the life that you truly desire to live, the sooner freedom will exist. And as you live with greater freedom in each moment, the cumulative effects this will have on your future freedoms will be beyond belief.

In freedom there is greater happiness, not in slavery. In freedom we must all strive to exist, in slavery we must escape. Freedom is discovered when you begin to discover your authentic self and then live by it.

“Freedom is not being a slave to any circumstance, to any constraint, to any chance it means compelling Fortune to enter the lists on equal terms. When I have the upper hand, her power will be not.” Seneca