This has been one of our many conversations about what freedom means to each of us.
Yesterday, I was watching Raghav play one of his games on the iPad. This one was about horse riding - where he has to groom, feed and take care of his horse and then get it to do some obstacle courses, show jumping etc. He played it for a while according to the rules, but after a point, I heard him say this while he was playing: "That's enough! I am not going to follow those markings anymore...I am going to do whatever I choose to do!" and he took his horse for a ride all around, ignoring the instructions, markings and everything else. He does a similar thing when he plays one of his car racing games too - he just races around the track in the "wrong" direction, sometimes banging into cars, and sometimes managing to avoid them! When I ask him why he does that, he simply says "....because I like it!"
Today, while we were having lunch together, we looked out of the balcony to see many kites flying, gliding, hovering around over the waters. Both of us got up, washed our hands and took to our binoculars and camera. Two of them hovered just above us, and Raghav exclaimed: "Oh how I wish I could be a bird!", and I said:"Oh, how nice I will feel to be free like that bird!" "I want to be a bird because I can be high up there and look down below...no one is really free amma...", he continued. I asked him why. I asked him what freedom meant to him. This is what he said: "...freedom to me is when I can do whatever I want to, whenever I want to and however I want to....but then no one can be totally free, because God has made it like that.....something always happens and so you can never be free..."
Profound words. Hard-hitting thoughts. I realised how this is our eternal struggle as human beings...when you think you are free, something happens to bring you crashing down to what is real and alive now....and that is where the freedom is actually.....in this moment.
Ah yes! It is better to want to be a bird to just enjoy the flight and enjoy the breathtaking view from up there, rather than to think of something that you think you don't have and struggle endlessly to pursue that.
The key to freedom then, lies in enjoying the present moment that is both real and alive. When you stop thinking about freedom is when you are truly free!
Yesterday, I was watching Raghav play one of his games on the iPad. This one was about horse riding - where he has to groom, feed and take care of his horse and then get it to do some obstacle courses, show jumping etc. He played it for a while according to the rules, but after a point, I heard him say this while he was playing: "That's enough! I am not going to follow those markings anymore...I am going to do whatever I choose to do!" and he took his horse for a ride all around, ignoring the instructions, markings and everything else. He does a similar thing when he plays one of his car racing games too - he just races around the track in the "wrong" direction, sometimes banging into cars, and sometimes managing to avoid them! When I ask him why he does that, he simply says "....because I like it!"
Today, while we were having lunch together, we looked out of the balcony to see many kites flying, gliding, hovering around over the waters. Both of us got up, washed our hands and took to our binoculars and camera. Two of them hovered just above us, and Raghav exclaimed: "Oh how I wish I could be a bird!", and I said:"Oh, how nice I will feel to be free like that bird!" "I want to be a bird because I can be high up there and look down below...no one is really free amma...", he continued. I asked him why. I asked him what freedom meant to him. This is what he said: "...freedom to me is when I can do whatever I want to, whenever I want to and however I want to....but then no one can be totally free, because God has made it like that.....something always happens and so you can never be free..."
Profound words. Hard-hitting thoughts. I realised how this is our eternal struggle as human beings...when you think you are free, something happens to bring you crashing down to what is real and alive now....and that is where the freedom is actually.....in this moment.
Ah yes! It is better to want to be a bird to just enjoy the flight and enjoy the breathtaking view from up there, rather than to think of something that you think you don't have and struggle endlessly to pursue that.
The key to freedom then, lies in enjoying the present moment that is both real and alive. When you stop thinking about freedom is when you are truly free!
Thank you so much for writing this.I am shocked that an eight year old has said that no one is really free.It is true.
ReplyDelete