Freedom from Freedom

Everybody wants to be free. Kids want to be free from their parents. Couples want to be free from their partners. Students want to be free from school and homework. Workers want to be free from their employers.

And for people like us, with rare diseases, the desire for independence just runs through our blood. It’s natural that when something is taken away from us - especially our independence - it only makes us want it more.

All my life, I was fixated on wanting to be independent and to be able to do things on my own. I thought that you needed to be independent to really feel free. I was always chasing this freedom which seemed like an unrealistic goal.

But, what if I told you, we are chasing the wrong thing. It was never freedom that we desire. Youth or People of my age especially, we chase for this said freedom constantly but, Babuji Maharaj says ‘Freedom from Freedom.’ I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was in Dallas waiting for my teacher, Daaji speak and the way he speaks is so simple yet so deep. Beautiful is an understatement. But anyway, he was talking about his teacher, Babuji who said this intriguing yet contradictory statement. As a person who rationalizes everything, I was literally trying to dig the meaning of this for months.

But maybe, he has a point. Are we ever gonna feel free if we keep wanting to be free? Maybe, we need to free ourselves from the idea of being free to actually feel free? Do I make any sense? 🤷🏻‍♀️