Is Freedom Is A False Notion
Yes, freedom is a funny thing. All the experts rave about it, exhort you to learn the arcane secrets about achieving it, (from them of course), and make a commitment to provide you with the sole and secret information you need to seize it by the ears and arms so you can, seemingly quite effortlessly if were to believe what the experts say, wrestle Freedom to the ground and do what you will with it.
But, as I said at the outset, Freedom is a funny thing. Its funny because I dont know anyone who has it. No, not anyone. Not me, not the other experts, not anyone. Not even Bill Gates, even though hes got so much money he cant give it away fast enough, which would, according to the experts, tell us that Bill Gates is free, big time. Big time enough for you. Big time enough for me.
But, the fact of the matter is, freedom is a funny thing. Because I would hazard a guess that Bill Gates isnt free, not by a long shot. And if he isnt (and Ill make my case for why he isnt in a moment) than should you and I not shift our attention from being free as defined by the experts enough money to do anything or buy anything you want anytime you want it; enough knowledge and skill to create whatever you want no matter how excessive it might appear to be; enough wisdom to know thyself as the personal growth gurus entice you to pursue and believe in; the best heavenly relationships and sex anyone of us could ever imagine ourselves having to being something else instead of free?
Well, what else would that be? Work with me here, as we earnestly pursue that question.
Freedom is a funny thing because it is a relative thing. Relative, because the only way we can aspire to be free is in relationship to someone else, something else, our past and present condition and position in life, our past and current frustrations, our past and current lack of ability to pay the rent, or pay the mortgage, or go on vacation, or say yes to Jack and no to Jim.
And thats funny (not ha-ha funny, understand, but funny as strange), because if freedom is a relative thing, than it only exists in our mind, our associations, our thoughts and feelings about our perceived circumstances in life, not as in absolute terms, not as an inviolable law kind of thing, but in relationship to our maturity, or lack of maturity, our ability to see our world, our lives, objectively, as opposed to subjectively, to see our world impersonally, as opposed to personally, to see our world from outside of our personality and all of its obvious limitations, so that we can, in fact, see freedom for what it actually is, the profound ability to see the truth, apart from my circumstances, apart from my present and past conditions, as it exists outside of me, and, having seen it, take action definitively, clearly, unswayed by all of the rest of it.
To be unswayed by all the rest of it. What exactly would that look like, what exactly would that feel like, what exactly would that experience be?
But, isnt that exactly the opposite of the way we live? You, Bill Gates, and me? Isnt being unswayed exactly the opposite of what we crave?
Dont we rather wish to be swayed? Wish to be stimulated? Wish to be motivated? Wish to be inspired? Wish to be moved by the image of others who, as best as we are able to believe, successful at striking an independent chord in their lives, like John Lennon, like Sting, like Donald Trump, like Bill Gates? And by striking that chord, are free?
Make a list of the names that have swayed you. Make a list of the personalities who are so obviously free when you think of them. Make a list of the attributes you have attached to their freedom, the product which you have so indelibly consumed so as to shape your wishes, your hopes, your desires, your need to become. So, this is what I mean when I say that Bill Gates isnt free:
Bill Gates is ruled by his previous behavior.
Bill Gates is ruled by his identification with being Bill Gates.
Bill Gates has made choices in his life that have ruled his life. He is as unlikely to go to Tibet and a cave as you and I are.
Bill Gates is Bill Gates, and thats why he isnt free.
Bill Gates is inspired by Bill Gates. And if he isnt, then he has no one left to inspire him. And if he has no one left to inspire him, than he has no one left to aspire to be.
Bill Gates already is what he has aspired to be. And now hes stuck with it. Which may seem fine to you.
Yes, it may seem fine to you, thinking as you do that Bill Gates has everything any man could possibly want. I think not.
I think that despite the fact that Bill Gates is The Billionaire Next Door, I think that he has serious concerns about it. I think that a man who has risen to such heights, but still doesnt understand whats missing in it, has paid a huge price for his achievement. To understand what Im talking about look at the man who is running his company, Steve Ballmer. Then youll understand.