They could have been branches...
Your freedom can be measured by the amount and latitude of meaningful choices which you can make in your mind and apply in your deeds [1]
without being destroyed.
Multiply choices to have more freedom.
*
You are free first in your mind, by your abundance in thinking and feeling and willing. You are free when you understand yourself so that you know why you want and you judge that your desires are worth, not weakness, not blind slavery to instincts and drives.
Second, you are free by the range of what you can express and communicate sincerely to other people.
Further, you are free when you have choices of important things you can do or not do. You are free when you not only know about your choices but also do chose and follow what you started, so that what happens to you is mostly because of you. This freedom increases with your effort and power of will, as you grow able to vanquish the difficulties, constraints and obstacles met on your way.
One can judge that you are free in what you do when you feel responsible for what you do.
You are finally free only when you look back at what you did and achieved - successful or not - and you feel satisfied that you realized yourself by that which you have chosen instead of discovering that you deceived yourself, influenced by weakness and error.
*
If you want to set people free awaken them to choices; unaware, uninformed, uneducated to perceive their choices, they are mere slaves, even in free countries.
But do people really want to be free?
Freedom requires people to understand and think out complicated things with their own mind; but most people desire things to be made simple for them.
Freedom makes one responsible. Most people hate to be responsible.
Freedom is taking the risk to do something else and to be surprised my newness. Most people dread risk.
Freedom needs one to take initiative, but people are unimaginative and lazy.
without being destroyed.
Multiply choices to have more freedom.
*
You are free first in your mind, by your abundance in thinking and feeling and willing. You are free when you understand yourself so that you know why you want and you judge that your desires are worth, not weakness, not blind slavery to instincts and drives.
Second, you are free by the range of what you can express and communicate sincerely to other people.
Further, you are free when you have choices of important things you can do or not do. You are free when you not only know about your choices but also do chose and follow what you started, so that what happens to you is mostly because of you. This freedom increases with your effort and power of will, as you grow able to vanquish the difficulties, constraints and obstacles met on your way.
One can judge that you are free in what you do when you feel responsible for what you do.
You are finally free only when you look back at what you did and achieved - successful or not - and you feel satisfied that you realized yourself by that which you have chosen instead of discovering that you deceived yourself, influenced by weakness and error.
*
If you want to set people free awaken them to choices; unaware, uninformed, uneducated to perceive their choices, they are mere slaves, even in free countries.
But do people really want to be free?
Freedom requires people to understand and think out complicated things with their own mind; but most people desire things to be made simple for them.
Freedom makes one responsible. Most people hate to be responsible.
Freedom is taking the risk to do something else and to be surprised my newness. Most people dread risk.
Freedom needs one to take initiative, but people are unimaginative and lazy.
Who wants to be free? As Etienne de la Boétie wrote, we all as crowds, suffer a fascination of voluntary servitude[2].
The fact is, as it seems, that most people ignore choices or make choices presented by others: authorities, leaders, specialists.
Speaking for myself, I do want to be free, to defend my freedom and to increase it; there are many other people who want the same, as I observed and read. My lines are for us, freedom lovers ready to pay some price for it.
*
Speaking for myself, I do want to be free, to defend my freedom and to increase it; there are many other people who want the same, as I observed and read. My lines are for us, freedom lovers ready to pay some price for it.
*
For you, to be free, remember this: quite often, there is a choice of the choices themselves. Do not let people tell you: "The choice is this." but rather "Look these are some choices, and there are many more." Do not trust others to decide what choices there are, do not let other people choose the choices for you.
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[1] This common-sense measure of choices shows individual freedom, meagre or rich at a given moment. I prefer it to accepting the precise but passive explanation of freedom as « the understanding of necessity » or freedom as “free will” or some mad dream, free from causality and free to do whatever. And definitely, freedom lived by the individual need not worry too much about freedom defined by philosophers and politicians.
[2] Etienne de la Boétie, Discours de la Servitude Volontaire, 1574
Picture by Tawng - Royalty free vector graphic
[1] This common-sense measure of choices shows individual freedom, meagre or rich at a given moment. I prefer it to accepting the precise but passive explanation of freedom as « the understanding of necessity » or freedom as “free will” or some mad dream, free from causality and free to do whatever. And definitely, freedom lived by the individual need not worry too much about freedom defined by philosophers and politicians.
[2] Etienne de la Boétie, Discours de la Servitude Volontaire, 1574
Picture by Tawng - Royalty free vector graphic
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