Episode #8: Finding Home Through Freedom
On our desire to feel free and living on a boat
There’s a universal call towards freedom. Almost like a human necessity, we want to be free. To feel free. And it becomes most clear when we’re forced down a path where there’s no choice except the one laid out in front of us. In that precise moment, this inner desire for freedom becomes undeniable.
I used to think freedom meant escape.
Flying far away, leaving everything behind, disappearing for a while. Escaping what we call reality. Maybe it was a way to physically distance myself from the things I wanted to run away from, but in the end, those things followed. They always do, until we face them.
What I love about the idea of freedom is that two people can see it in completely different ways. What feels like true liberation to one person might seem like a prison to another.
But if there’s one common thread, it’s that when I ask people about freedom, their minds immediately picture nature. A clear sky, an open ocean, a mountain, a forest. Most of the time, freedom for us is linked to nature.
But how do we reach it?
I’ve always admired people who at least try to explore what freedom means for them. And for some, it’s closely tied to the idea of home.
While spending time in London, I started talking to people who live on boats along the eastern canals. If there’s one thing they all had in common, it was that when I asked what home meant to them, or what they loved most about this life, they all said, “freedom.”
Freedom to move, to live the way they want. Freedom from insanely high rents, or simply to be where they feel most at peace.
And I think this is truly beautiful.
They reminded me of some passages I loved and meditated on, which I’ll leave below to end this episode for now.
Freedom is not a reaction; freedom is not a choice. It is man's pretense that because he has choice, he is free. Freedom is pure observation without direction, without fear of punishment and reward. Freedom is without motive; freedom is not at the end of the evolution of man but lies in the first step of his existence. In observation one begins to discover the lack of freedom. Freedom is found in the choiceless awareness of our daily existence and activity. J.K.
Until the next one,
Much love.
F
It’s true though things follow you. I left where I was living because it hurt to see the gentrification of the town and found another place that felt like home only to go through the same process.
I realized my anger wasn’t causing me the gentrification but it was preventing me from celebrating that time I had with the town. And maybe it was causing the gentrification. I can’t be sure
I agree with you; you said freedom is like escape. Today we feel so tied to a lot of responsibilities but powerless about our own lives. Then run away and start a simple life is a liberator. This post is a beautiful complement of the last one about solitude.