Freedom?

We often create distractions to avoid the existential crisis we are in.

On one hand, we say, “I want to be free.”

On the other, we create work rules to insulate us so we don’t mess up a job and get fired. We expect students to memorize when the War of 1812 is rather than focus on the process of how to learn and solve interesting problems. We enforce laws like wearing seatbelts (for good reason) because we need someone to tell us what to do rather than accept responsibility for our own actions.

When we are free, we experience groundlessness. The feeling of free-falling. That feeling is uncomfortable, it creates tension in our lives. So much so, that we create systems that cause distractions to avoid this uneasiness.

These anchors in our lives hold us down to what we think is reality. It is the moments of clarity, prajna, trauma, and flow that shake us. These moments of awakening help us break habitual habits and routine thought patterns.

Life is precious. And it is precisely the finite nature of our beings that makes it so special to seize the moments we have. When we are mindful, we are alive. The rest of the time is just procedural.

We want freedom but we are also scared of it too.