What is Freedom?

South Africa just celebrated Freedom Day (27 April), but many people expressed their disappointment, sadness, anger or somewhere in between for not feeling so free this Freedom Day. Many complained that their freedom had been taken from them because they were stuck at home. But, what does freedom look like?

We get fixated on physical freedom and ignore the other kinds. We also tend to ignore what keeps us free. What other kinds of freedom can you think of?

A constitution can allow us to live freely, but what is a constitution? It’s a set of rules. A set of parameters gives us freedom! Isn’t that ironic? That which allows us freedom, has limits. Where’s the freedom in that? The truth is freedom requires rules, because without rules there is chaos. Why aren’t we free to steal, to bear false witness etc? The Abrahamic religions find the foundations of their freedom in the Ten Commandments. The freedom in democracies is found within the parameters of their constitutions and legal systems.

Viktor Frankl, a famous psychologist and the founder of Logotherapy, was a Holocaust survivor. He survived a number of labour and death camps during World War 2, including Auschwitz-Birkenau. In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”, he describes how, not only were his physical possessions taken away, but even his hair shaved off and his name stripped of him. His identity was reduced to a number that was tattooed to his arm. The Nazis took absolutely everything they possibly could, to the extent that their victims were left with the absolute bare minimum of their physical selves. They even took their victims’ names! One could say they had absolutely no freedom.

The one thing Viktor Frankl recognised, in the depths of despair and horror, was that they could not take his thoughts. He was free to his beliefs, his hopes and dreams. He could live in his mind, however he chose to. It was this that helped give his life purpose, fuelling his strength to survive. The Nazis could not rob him of everything. He had a measure of freedom.

Meaning and purpose give us motivation to survive and thrive. Love for our fellow man also gives us this motivation. Love is the dominant emotion in this world because whatever good or bad we do, it is to ultimately achieve love for ourselves and from others. There is a higher power in this world. Whether you refer to it as a Universal Power or God or a Universal Force or Energy, it is there. Man is the partner with God or this greater power, here on earth AND we are partners with each other to work for the common good of the world and humanity; to bring Godliness into this world.

To love this world, those in it and yourself, there are still rules by which we have to abide. There are still limitations. Today these limitations might be physical, but they are to everyone’s benefit and safety. It is about perspective. Recognise the frustration of being isolated to your home and from others, but also ask yourself “Will I let this determine my mood and emotions?” How we respond to our new reality determines the success we will make of it. So, today, when we look at freedom, we can lament the nature of freedom we had before Covid-19 and spiral into sadness and even depression. Alternatively, we have the choice to recognise that there is a temporary new reality that we will not allow to get the better of us. We still have freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of love, freedom of religion and many other freedoms. Let’s practice gratitude for what we do have in these unusual times and know that this is temporary. Most of us still have our health. Let us celebrate these freedoms and blessings each day we are free. One day, hopefully in the very near future, we can add a little more – the freedom of greater movement – to our list of freedoms.

# Freedom # choice #perspective #gratitude #love #movement #Covid-19 #lockdown #isolation