Freedom

“Let us be free; the rest matters little.” — José de San Martín

I love this quote. I know it may sound a little radical, but I believe that without freedom, almost nothing truly makes sense. Freedom is what allows us, as human beings, to shine.

Defining and keeping in mind the foundations — the pillars that guide the way we choose to live — can help us feel free and, as a result, fulfilled as human beings. Freedom means being conscious of the values we choose and having the discipline to live in alignment with them. It is then that we begin to feel whole, satisfied, at peace and proud of who we are.

I also believe compassion is essential because, however coherent we may think we are, we are not perfect — and accepting that can be a relief. In other words, it is important to acknowledge what we do not know so that we can forgive ourselves, while still trusting ourselves enough to continue building who we are with honesty and integrity.

There is something deeply coherent about accepting our own inconsistencies if what we want is to keep growing and becoming increasingly free.

Not long ago, I read a verse from the Bible that said:

“Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” — Proverbs 4:23

For me, being free means having the curiosity to know ourselves and, from there, to understand the world around us through critical thinking. This expands our capacity to choose, because knowledge widens the range of possibilities and paths available to us as we build our lives.

Without critical thinking, we allow other people to design our lives for us.

It is also important to remember that our perceptions shape the way we see things and the way we behave. So, as well as questioning the world we see, we must also question the lens through which we see the world.

Freedom requires self-knowledge.

Our desire to understand is satisfied through experience: by allowing ourselves to explore so that we can discover the world and ourselves; by daring to test what makes us feel good and what doesn’t; by taking chances, making mistakes, searching, stumbling, falling, getting back up and continuing to search.

How can we know where the midpoint of a line lies if we have never measured it?

I believe it is important to move fluidly and continuously between black and white in order to discover which shade of grey is right for us at each stage of our lives.

The length of our inner line changes as quickly as life itself flows.

Knowing ourselves — and understanding the world around us — gives us the ability to choose according to what we have determined is right for us. But this is a skill that requires consistency, movement and flexibility.

It allows us to live more honestly with ourselves, bringing who we are into alignment with who we want and are able to become, while making peace with who we once were and learning to love ourselves as a whole.

Finally, discipline and self-control are necessary if we want to follow through on our choices.

This is fundamental to experiencing freedom because, no matter how capable we are of making choices based on our knowledge and previous experiences, if we allow ourselves to be ruled by fear, anxiety, instant gratification or ego, we may not be able to act according to what we have chosen without betraying what truly matters to us.

Defining and remembering the foundations or pillars that guide the way we live makes us freer.

Freedom means consciously choosing our values.

Discipline and self-control are essential if we want to remain true to what we want, what we think and what we value. Ultimately, they shape the way we build ourselves as people, day after day.

Every choice builds a little more of who we are.

Being free is our responsibility.

We are what we do with what we are.

Through action, we create ourselves. Our actions give form to part of who we are, and what we create inevitably returns to us, shaping us a little more every day.

It never really stops.

What we create comes back to us and becomes another tool that will take part in the next creative expression of who we are — a self that is constantly evolving.

For all of this, I believe it is