You are out in the world, on the road, all alone. All you have is your backpack, a Lonely Planet guide (if that) and a sense of adventure. No one and nothing is waiting for you back home. You have untangled yourself from the obligations and limits that tie you down, and you are free. You can go anywhere you want … as long as the bus / train / ferry schedule complies.
I love that feeling. Don’t you? The feeling of being untethered.
Now that I have mastered the spy-cum-solo-backpacker disguise, I secretly wanted a new mission. I wanted to have a fixer for the next journey. I wanted the inside track and to be able to dig in a little deeper. As luck would have it, I spent 13 days traveling through India with an astrologer from the Brahmin Caste. Ask and you shall receive.
Because of my new travel companion, I was invited into homes and experienced genuine Indian hospitality. I was afforded an intimate look inside various middle class Indian homes of the highest castes and got beyond the surface.
Sounds great doesn’t it?!
Well … as with all change, there can be unexpected rebellion. The inner spy-cum-solo-traveler felt confined by no longer being alone.
I no longer felt unleashed, unbound, FREE .
Here is the 20 million dollar question that hit me over the head like a cast iron frying pan. How truly free am I if the feeling of being free can only be achieved when a specific set of circumstances are met?
We strive to liberate ourselves from the circumstances that limit us in order to be free. Circumstances removed, liberty experienced, freedom level 1 – check.
Now we come to realize as long as we exist in this physical realm, there will always be circumstances. Freedom level 2 – to be free irrespective to the circumstances, to understand you are limitless.
It’s a big question, which also makes me think about responsibility. I am chewing on this question for a little while and will get back to you with my findings.
Don’t miss a beat of this spy-art-gallery-director-solo-traveler-photographer adventure. Subscribe to have the stories delivered to your inbox twice a week.
as you probably have deduced from the many choices in my personal life . . . I have been conditioning myself and shooting for sustaining level 3 freedom – “a stable feeling of freedom regardless of the chaos of environment or surrounding events” 🙂
That is a good goal to have. To feel free in spite of all the chaos.
I always struggle with the same idea of freedom. When I’m with friends and family too long, when I’m in the same circumstances or job for too long, when I’m in the same location for too long- I LONG for freedom.
It’s when I get on the airplane, alone, with a backpack, that I sense true freedom, a clear sense of self.
Yet, like you said, what is freedom if only depending on our circumstances?
I’m learning that each day. I think freedom is knowing that you can go wherever, whenever you like, without people hovering over you (trying to control your every move because of their fear of losing control of their own lives).
So when I meet people who will let me be me, I experience freedom.
i like that thought. “When you are with people who will let me be me, I experience freedom.”
Yes. That is important. Its important to be with people who will love you enough to let you be, in all ways of you, and not let their fears or limits bind you or limit you.
One of my favorite quote is “The highest form of love is to be the protector of another’s solitude.”
“How truly free am I if the feeling of being free can only be achieved when a specific set of circumstances are met??”
True that, sister! I’ve been thinking about this as well, after achieving level 1 by finding my calling and quitting my job, and with an upcoming geographic move.
Level 2 Limitlessness — ahh, this comes to me when I think about the moment I am in now, alive. Choice is present, and I can choose to do anything in this miraculous playground of the physical realm.
Looking forward to what comes of your chewing 🙂
~Lisa
Yes yes, Level 1 – achieved. Level 2 – in progress.
That is the real challenge isn’t it? To be free, completely, in all sense, nearly Buddha like (dare I make the comparison) but still be attached enough, present enough to enjoy all the flavors of life has to offer, the sticky sweetness of toffee ice cream or the caress of a lover without it being bound to it.
Is it possible? I sure hope so. Keep me posted on your progress as well! 🙂