Thursday, February 14, 2008

Is this how you see freedom?
By losing things?
Maybe its one way.....
But then what is the other way?


"I'm truly working the best angle, and that's age. Age has freed me — I don't have to hold back on anything. I've never worked so strongly and so freely in my life. And that's because I have nothing to lose. I've already been fired. I've already been bankrupt. I've already had the suicide. I've already had my daughter not talk to me for a while. I've already had all kinds of things taken from me. So I might as well say what I think," River says.

13 comments:

Guruprasad said...

hi preethi,

thanks for dropping by. i chose this blog to comment on. don't ask me why :-)

i'd read somewhere that 'true freedom is not doing what you feel like doing'!

so if you don't feel the pain of losing something then you are truly free, don't you think?

Preethi said...

thanks for dropping by......
ha ha i think i can take a wild guess here :)
As for ur cmnt...mmmm...... Yes if i don't feel the pain of losing something......
I agree but do you have to necessarily lose something in the first place to sense freedom?
that's my question...

Reflections said...

do we really in our entire lives ever experience complete freedom????

[i'm spend 2 mins trying to gauge the extent of that feeling]

maybe....when u have nothing to lose.....or when u r not tied down by anything.....then maybe.

my limited imagination cant even begin to assimilate such......see, i cant even find the word for 'it'.

gosh i just read ur post again & realised i gave the exact answer as ur question. ohhhh i give up.

p.s - can i add u on my, blogs i love to read section?

Preethi said...

ha ha i know. these questions can be tricky right? If you delve deep enough you're sure to take a complete circle. I do, all the time :) But thanks for attempting. And yes, pls go ahead and add my blog in ur fav. section. I'd be thrilled :)

Guruprasad said...

i'm intrigued. what's your wild guess?

and no, the only thing you need to lose to sense freedom is to lose the false feeling that you need to lose something to taste true freedom.

i think we are free to begin with. we then harbor the misconception that we are bound and that we need to do something (or lose something) to be free again!

i don't know if i am making any sense :)

Preethi said...

My other blog that day had a huge story posted. Given the choice i'd prefer a short version and thought you chose this blog for the same reason :)

You are making sense. absolutely.

But i do feel bound by my realities at times. So i don't think we are 'free to begin with'. But love these bonds at the same time. Because of this there is pain. I dunno if i'm making sense now!
Every solution spiritually suggests move away, I don't want to yet wud love to taste freedom.

want to have the cake and eat it too?? :)

Guruprasad said...

no, that's not the reason why i chose this blog. so i guess you'll have to guess again :)

you hit the nail on the head. look at kids. they have no hang-ups at all. each day is a fresh new start for them.

we bind ourselves with innumerable things around us. we derive security, happiness, pride and all this through these bonds. even our sense of identity!

and then there is bound to be pain and disappointment, anger and fear and so much more. of course you are making sense.

we don't want to move away because of the inertia and associated fear. but our inner spirit wants freedom because that is our true nature.

and so our entire life is a journey of trying to break free...

whew! i don't think i want to read what i've written. i think indigestion makes me ramble thus :P

Preethi said...

Right. It all again boils down to moving away from unwanted bondage, misconceptions, pride i think i'm willing to let go of these things but the package has security and happiness too. How do i even start to let go of these.
May be if i get my security and happiness from elsewhere!!? Then maybe.....By meditating for example.... still i get attached to this meditation now! Is that considered a bondage as well? Man, nancy was right i'm going in circles.....

Actually now i understand how children are.... fresh as a dew :)

Guruprasad said...

but that's the point. you don't need to move away from anything at all to achieve freedom! the idea is to be free even when you are in the midst of everything.

you enjoy life and all its associated ups and downs. but you don't let any of it get to you. not get bogged down by anything - the good or the bad.

i don't know if i am making any sense at all!

Preethi said...

U have been very patient with my never ending questions... that's nice.... :)

after having read everything, after analysing these things i still have no clue how to go about this whole freedom thing..... sometimes i think it's all an illusion. People saying 'free thyself'. Some guru, some books, some spiritual talkers repeat this statement over and over again and people mimic this unconsciously. Is it your original thought? 'being amongst everything yet being free' is this statement ur own? have u done this? Because as i see it, some detachment is req. if u don't have to feel bogged down by things around u, doesn't that detach you from ur happiness as well?

There is a constant fight within my mind when things happen in my life.
Should i feel sad or should i let go?
Should i fight this battle or should i remain calm?
Should i speak my mind out or should remain stoic?
Earlier i used to know exactly what i should do, but after having been influenced by spiritual books i'm no longer sure. If i remain calm it is against my nature. I remain confused.......
Hey but that's me, maybe i will learn as days pass by....

Guruprasad said...

i guess they all say the same thing because that is the truth :)

but i agree that its not as easy as it sounds... easy to have clarity in theory but completely evaporates in practice!

nothing i have said is original. is there anything original anyone ever says? but i completely believe in it.

but i think all people do feel detached in certain situations. where one experiences a sense of calm. and it doesn't mean detachment from happiness, nor does it mean attachment!

take an example. you are playing with a small child and both of you are trying to grab a ball. after sometime the baby doesn't want to share it with you. you are able to detach immediately from the game and look at the baby and even at the pleasure the baby gets from the ball it now possesses.

now look at all the situations in our lives.... are we the baby or the older person? and many times its one baby fighting with another!

i guess once we start realising this we grow and then we are able to give up the ball and smile because of the smile you brought on the baby's face.

Preethi said...

wow...ok now. Got that. I think i understood that for the first time in my life!! It is a big deal for me. thanks i guess....... i'll have to live this way and see it for myself before i accept it completely but I do see what people mean. a lot of things makes sense now. So we need to see everyone as a child.... nice...makes it easy now...

Guruprasad said...

i'm glad it made some sense :)

but its not easy at all. because most of the time we ourselves are behaving like babies... and spoiled ones at that :P