Freedom and anxiety

Kierkegaard said that anxiety is the dizziness of freedom. On one hand, we say, “I want to be free.” Yet, when we are free it feels like we don’t have any gravity. Groundlessness. No footing to stand on. A consistent free fall. Which creates tension that we want immediately to resolve.

I want freedom but waiting for instructions, doesn’t align. As a result, people build distractions in their lives so that they don’t experience this type of freedom. A bird in search of a cage to sleep. To insulate and avoid responsibility. I mean, come on, why would the boss let me ever do that?

Distractions and excuses are a way to avoid one’s own existential crisis. The irony never escapes me how we seek the rules to insulate and to avoid from seeing things as they are.