free

what does it mean to be free? many thinkers in the past have pondered this question. but on a basic level, it seems evident that it is some freedom from restriction.

who imposes these restrictions? is it God? physics? or perhaps the state? let us investigate what most binds us today.

one word comes up which creates worry, anxiety, resentment, and perhaps even nihilism in the hearts of many. and that is the concept of work. it seems that at some point, we found ourselves having to work to live, rather than living to work.

it is not the action itself, but the philosophy of work which chains us. and that is the idea that everything we do must be practical.

we are no longer free to behold beauty as it is, to admire and enjoy just because. self-care, is just code for "recovering in order to work again." and herein lies the great problem. even the very act of enjoying ourselves, taking care of ourselves, is for the sake of some practical result.

this is the great dilemma of the 21st century human.


there are probably some who would read this and begin to protest in their hearts, that it is because of the unfairness of the system, the economic powers which drive the world, that some of us do not have this leisure of forgetting work.

it is not the act itself of work which i criticize, but the ideal of work. work itself is not valuable. we do not live to work. rich and poor alike, are lost in this endless crossing to which there is no other side.

we have become unable to enjoy ourselves, to develop ourselves just for the sake of ourselves.

i even hesitate to write because it does not contribute to my career. but instead, it is my career that must contribute to my writing.


to be free means to act in and of itself. to act simply out of joy and will. to be, without being in debt. and the greatest debt we are all in is that we owe something to the world because of our existence. no, we are first and foremost allowed to simply be. everything else comes after that.

how does one become free in this age of work? do we stop working? no. we should continue to work, perhaps even work harder than before. but we should do it not because we ought to, because we must, but because we desire to. i wholeheartedly believe that this shift is not a material one, but one of the mind and spirit.