Why do all humans have an innate desire to be free? Ever since I was in high school, I have had the desire to be free. That is when I first noticed this overwhelming longing for freedom. It was an uneasy and painful feeling inside of me that was constant and did not go away. The feeling of being like a bird trapped inside of a cage is what always came to my mind. I felt something or someone was always holding me back from living the life I desired. Not being able to go whenever I pleased or do what I wanted contributed to the trapped feeling. I had an idea of what I wanted my life to look like, and the reality of my physical world was not matching up which led to even more distress.
The essence of who we are as a human wants to be free and when that is taken away in any shape or form, that is what causes great sorrow and pain. Even how we punish people in our society for their crimes is by taking away their freedom. We have a desire not only to be physically free to come and go as we please, but also be able to choose how we live our life. When unexpected events occur in our lives, it can feel like that choice is taken away which leads us to more suffering.
Over the years, the feeling of being trapped in a cage has lingered. Depending on what was happening in my life, the feeling would either be prominent and strong which would result in a lot of pain and searching for answers as to why I feel trapped. While other points of my life, perhaps when it was going more smoothly and according to my plans and expectations, the feeling of being trapped would subside. Nevertheless, the deep yearning to be free never seemed to fully go away.
Will I always feel this way? Is this longing to be free always guiding me throughout my life when it is time to make a change? It took me years to realize one thing though, which is that I held the keys all along to escape the cage that I helped build. I think the hardest thing for me at this point, is figuring out what I need to do in order to unlock this metaphorical cage since I know I hold the keys to free myself.
Freedom comes in all forms and may look different to each person. We have the desire to be physically free, mentally free from the things that hold us back, financially free to not have the burden to worry about money and if there is “enough”, and freedom of choice. We all want to be free. What does freedom look like to you?