Freedom: An Inside or an Outside Job?

​When you hear the word "freedom" what do you think of?  Perhaps you think of people who are physically imprisoned in circumstances you can hardly imagine?  Maybe your mind goes to other parts of the world where, from our outside perspective, there seems to be little to no freedom in the ways we tend to value it?  Possibly you think of books, songs, movies and powerful stories of journeys to freedom that have inspired you in creating your own unique path to the freedom you experience today?  

You might consider the places where freedom seems illusive in your own life.  Maybe your mind wanders to those places where there is some form of oppression that you find painful, challenging, unwelcome, or angering?  It may be that you are struggling to forgive, release, and allow that which feels unforgivable and in this journey you are caught in a web of discontent, resentment, vindication, and angst?

Wherever you are in your own journey toward freedom, you are not alone.  Any one who has lived an honest life knows that pain and heartache that comes with betrayal, punitive behavior, hatred, and sometimes even vitriol from another.  Sometimes that is a response to particular behavior and sometimes it is a result of some basic quality of being that systems of oppression exploit in order to benefit from the servitude extracted from an entire group of people.  The color of one's skin, one's gender, ability, sexual orientation, religious or political viewpoints, or even likes or dislikes can be used as the foundation for both covert and overt oppression in its various forms.

In preparing for a new singing series of "Singing for Freedom" I have been thinking about the ways we can become prisoners in our bodies, minds, or spirits.  I am aware that there are situations in my life in which I have been both the oppressor and the oppressed.  I wrestle with the nuances of "freedom" as a concept and the practical implications of such an unwieldy word.

Freedom in Body seems to be the capacity to have autonomy over our physical body.  Things like the clothes we wear, where we live, the food we eat, the ways we listen to and honor our bodies' need to rest, move, breathe, and replenish itself, where we go, and even how we move our bodies through the world are all part of physical autonomy.

Freedom in Mind is in part the capacity to think for ourselves, to choose the thoughts we want to focus our attention on, to embrace the perspectives that resonate for us and release the ones that no longer serve us.  The power to change our minds, decide for ourselves, and navigate our lives from a place of solid and stable mental well-being are all areas where we can experience bondage or freedom depending on how we choose to engage.

Freedom in Spirit from a purely human standpoint seems to me to encompass the capacity to live life from within the values, morals, and principles that ring true for us.  To recognize, acknowledge, and move ever more toward our own North Star as a guiding force in our lives is to experience a freedom that can lead to a greater expression of our True Self.  With support and determination we can resolve to embrace the resilience of spirit that leads to true freedom.

While these aspects of Freedom are inter-related, they are not in any way fully dependent on one another.  It is possible to be imprisoned in body and to be free in mind and spirit just as it is possible to be free in body while still living as a prisoner in aspects of our minds and spirits that are not yet truly free.

I wonder if, from a non-human standpoint, our Spirits are fully free always, and it is our minds and bodies that get bogged down in areas of resistance, contraction, and confinement either through our own or others' actions and their effects on us.

Additionally, there are the ways that we all function at different times as both oppressed and oppressor.  For many years I have contemplated why the comparison game that is so prevalent in our world is utterly ineffective.  At least one reason, as I am continually coming to understand, is because we can always find people who have it "better" and those who have it "worse" than we do.  And then what?  We boost our own fragile sense of self by looking closely at those who have it "worse" than we or wallow in self-pity when we focus on those who are "better" off than we?  This "better than/less than" thinking feeds a sense of inequality and, left unchecked, can contribute to this oppressed/oppressor dynamic in our thinking.

This is my understanding of what Nelson Mandela meant when he said that the only division that remains among free people is "between those who cherish democracy and those who do not."  At its heart, democracy is about equality of rights and privileges, and true freedom supports equal rights and privileges for all people.  Granted, this is difficult to work out, and yet, the notion that "I am not free until all are free" is a guiding principle for many on the path of social justice and the ongoing struggles for freedom in our world.

Maybe one step on the path to freedom is stepping away from the comparison game and focusing our time and attention on those unique things that nourish our bodies, minds, and spirits.  For me those things can be as simple as:

• daily gratitude, movement, and song,
• healthful and delicious food as fuel for my. body,
• a mindfulness practice that supports my noticing in the natural world,
• conversations with good friends,
• honest acknowledgment of the rainbow of my emotions, and
• commitment to rest and ease in a world that thrives on busyness and disease.

In addition to singing about freedom and working toward it in whatever ways you feel called, I also invite you to join me in taking a careful and thoughtful introspective look at the places in which freedom and/or oppression show up for you today.  Here are a few questions I'm asking myself:

• In what arenas do I find it easier to live fully in my freedom?  
• Where do I feel constriction or resistance to life?  
• What might it be like to accept the invitation from Life to notice my own confinement in some area?

And then, the flip side of that coin:

• How am I contributing to the freedom or oppression of others in either passive or active ways by my thoughts, words, actions, or indifference?  
• Where am I being nudged to notice how I show up in the world and lean in toward freedom for all - even those who I feel have harmed me?

As always, I welcome a two-way engagement with this conversation.  I'd love to hear your reflections on this topic of freedom and the ways you are expanding your understanding and practice of freedom in your life.

In conclusion I'll leave you with this word of commendation.  In his book, “A Long Walk to Freedom,” Nelson Mandela tells the moving and empowering story of his own internal transformation while in jail as a political prisoner for 27 years in South Africa.  From the age of 44 to 71 he tirelessly worked for the freedom of himself and his people from within his physical confinement on Robben Island.  His writing and story have inspired me to examine my own relationship with freedom as I navigate my own long and winding path toward more freedom.  I commend to you his autobiography, which is as interesting as it is long.  I've included a few quotations below from the following website that you can visit for more organized excerpts of his writing.  
archives.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/Mandela/Mandela.html

"...I well knew that the place he was referring to would not afford me the freedom I longed for. He then remarked rather cryptically, "As long as you don't make trouble, you'll get everything you want."

….The singing made the work lighter. A few of the fellows had extraordinary voices, and I often felt like putting my pick down and simply listening…. one of the warders was fluent in Xhosa and understood the content of our songs, and we were soon ordered to stop singing. (Whistling was also banned.) From that day on we worked in silence….

…the human body has an enormous capacity for adjusting to trying circumstances. I have found that one can bear the unbearable if one can keep one's spirits strong even when one's body is being tested. Strong convictions are the secret of surviving deprivation; your spirit can be full even when your stomach is empty….

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity. 

When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning. 

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”

May all people everywhere know freedom of body, mind, and spirit.  May all be truly free.